Agronomically important traits of emmer wheat

Abstract

Particular agronomic traits of six landraces of Triticum diccocum Schrank (Schuebl) were studied during three years in Prague and České Budějovice localities, Czech Republic. The analysis of tolerance to drought by using the method of 13C discrimination (CID) was also focused on in the research. All the tested varieties were resistant to usual wheat diseases. An inclination of particular varieties to lodging and a low harvest index rate (0.33) were negative factors having a significant effect on the yield rate. Meanwhile, all the varieties contained a high percentage of proteins in grain (17.92%) which was an important advantage in low input conditions. The landraces of emmer wheat also proved to be more tolerant to drought (CID = 25.82‰) than check varieties of bread wheat (CID = 26.70‰). Results of the research showed that some of the emmer landraces may be successfully grown and used directly in low-input farming systems or in breeding programs focused on the breeding of suitable varieties for low-input farming.

Keywords

• agronomic traits
• drought tolerance
• emmer
• grain quality