Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4hhp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-17T17:04:46.943Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Estimates of relative yield potential and genetic improvement of wheat cultivars in the Mediterranean region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2009

O. SENER*
Affiliation:
Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, 31040 Hatay, Turkey
M. ARSLAN
Affiliation:
Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, 31040 Hatay, Turkey
Y. SOYSAL
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Machinery, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, 31040 Hatay, Turkey
M. ERAYMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, 31040 Hatay, Turkey
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: osener9@gmail.com

Summary

Information about changes associated with advances in crop productivity is essential for understanding yield-limiting factors and developing new strategies for future breeding programmes. National bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yields in Turkey have risen by an average of 20·8 kg/ha/year from 1925 to 2006. Annual gain in yield attributable to agronomic and genetic improvement averaged c. 11·6 kg/ha/year prior to 1975, but is now averaging c. 15·1 kg/ha/year. In the Mediterranean region, however, the wheat yield trend line (10·9 kg/ha/year) is c. 0·38 lower than that of Turkey. In order to understand whether such a trend was due to the cultivars released over the years, 16 bread wheat cultivars, commonly grown in the region and representing 23 years of breeding, introduction and selection (from 1976 to 1999), were grown in a randomized complete block design with three replicates across 2 years. Data were collected on maturation time, plant height, spike length, spikelet number/spike, grain number/spike, grain weight/spike, 1000 seed weight, harvest index and grain yield. None of the measured plant traits showed any historical cultivar patterns; therefore, the increase in grain yield could not be attributed to a single yield component. Several physiological traits changed during two decades of cultivar releases in the Mediterranean region that led to a genetic gain in grain yield of about 0·5% per year. Years of data and the present field study in the Mediterranean region suggested that the genetic improvement in wheat seemed inadequate and should be reinforced with modern agricultural management practices as well as technological innovations.

Type
Crops and Soils
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Al-Khatib, K. & Paulsen, G. M. (1990). Photosynthesis and productivity during high-temperature stress of wheat genotypes from major world regions. Crop Science 30, 11271132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amthor, J. S. (2001). Effects of atmospheric CO2 concentration on wheat yield: review of results from experiments using various approaches to control CO2 concentration. Field Crops Research 73, 134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, R. B., Bingham, J., Blackwell, R. D., Evans, L. T., Ford, M. A., Morgan, C. L. & Taylor, M. (1980). Genetic improvements in winter wheat yields since 1900 and associated physiological changes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 94, 675689.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, R. B., Ford, M. A. & Morgan, C. L. (1989). Genetic improvement in the yield of winter wheat: a further evaluation. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 112, 295301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, M. A., Fischer, R. A., Byerlee, D. & Sayre, K. (1995). Genetic and agronomic contributions to yield gains: a case study for wheat. Field Crops Research 44, 5565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brancourt-Hulmel, M., Doussinault, G., Lecomte, C., Berard, P., Le Buanec, B. & Trottet, M. (2003). Genetic improvement of agronomic traits of winter wheat cultivars released in France from 1946 to 1992. Crop Science 43, 3745.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calderini, D. F. & Slafer, G. A. (1998). Changes in yield and yield stability in wheat during the 20th century. Field Crops Research 57, 335347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calderini, D. F., Dreccer, M. F. & Slafer, G. A. (1995). Genetic improvement in wheat yield and associated traits. A re-examination of previous results and latest trends. Plant Breeding 114, 108112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calviño, P. & Sadras, V. (2002). On-farm assessment of constraints to wheat yield in the south-eastern Pampas. Field Crops Research 74, 111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canevara, M. G., Romani, M., Corbellini, M., Perenzin, M. & Borghi, B. (1994). Evolutionary trends in morphological, physiological, agronomical and qualitative traits of Triticum aestivum L. Cultivars bred in Italy since 1900. European Journal of Agronomy 3, 175185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cassman, K. G. (1999). Ecological intensification of cereal production systems: yield potential, soil quality, and precision agriculture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 96, 59525959.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, T. S., Shroyer, J. P., Ben-Hui, L., Sears, R. G. & Martin, T. J. (1988). Genetic improvement in agronomic traits of hard red winter wheat cultivars from 1919 to 1987. Crop Science 28, 756760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deckerd, E. L., Busch, R. H. & Kofoid, K. D. (1985). Physiological aspects of spring wheat improvement. In Exploitation of Physiological and Genetic Variability to Enhance Crop Productivity (Eds Harper, J. E., Schrader, L. E. & Howell, R. W.), pp. 4654. Rockwell, MD: American Society of Plant Physiologists.Google Scholar
De Vita, P., Nicosia, O. L., Nigro, F., Platani, C., Riefolo, C., Di Fonzo, N. & Cattivelli, L. (2007). Breeding progress in morpho-physiological, agronomical and qualitative traits of durum wheat cultivars released in Italy during the 20th century. European Journal of Agronomy 26, 3953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, L. T. (1993). Crop Evolution, Adaptation and Yield. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
FAO (2007). FAO Statistical Database. http://www.fao.org/corp/statistics/en/ (verified 8 January 2009).Google Scholar
FAO/UNESCO (1974). Soil Map of the World, Scale: 1: 5000·000, Volume 1 legend. World Soil Resources Report 59. Rome, Italy: FAO/UNESCO.Google Scholar
Feyerherm, A. M., Paulsen, G. M. & Sebaugh, J. L. (1984). Contribution of genetic improvement to recent wheat yield increases in the USA. Agronomy Journal 76, 985990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guarda, G., Padovan, S. & Delogu, G. (2004). Grain yield, nitrogen-use efficiency and baking quality of old and modern Italian bread-wheat cultivars grown at different nitrogen levels. European Journal of Agronomy 21, 181192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hucl, P. & Baker, R. J. (1987). A study of ancestral and modern Canadian spring wheats. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 67, 8797.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, S. P., Ainsworth, E. A., Rogers, A. & Ort, D. R. (2004). Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide: plants face the future. Annual Review of Plant Biology 55, 591628.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loomis, R. S. & Connor, D. J. (1992). Crop Ecology: Productivity and Management in Agricultural Systems. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miralles, D. J. & Slafer, G. A. (1995). Yield, biomass and yield components in dwarf, semi-dwarf and tall isogenic lines of spring wheat under recommended and late sowing dates. Plant Breeding 114, 392396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ortiz-Monasterio, J. I., Sayre, K. D., Rajaram, S. & McMahon, M. (1997). Genetic progress in wheat yield and nitrogen use efficiency under four nitrogen rates. Crop Science 37, 898904.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, M. P., Van Beem, J., Van Ginkel, M. & Hoisington, D. (1996). Breaking the yield barriers in wheat: a brief summary of the outcomes of an international consultation. In Increasing Yield Potential in Wheat: Breaking the Barriers (Eds Reynolds, M., Rajaram, S. & McNab, A.), pp. 110. CIMMYT International Symposium, CIANO, Cd. Obregon, Mexico. Mexico, D.F.: CIMMYT.Google Scholar
Richards, R. A. (1992). The effect of dwarfing genes in spring wheat in dry environments. I. Agronomic characteristics. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 43, 517527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. (1996). SAS/STAT Software: Chances and Enhancements through Release 6.11. Cary, NC: SAS Institute. Inc.Google Scholar
Sayre, K. D., Rajaram, S. & Fischer, R. A. (1997). Yield potential progress in short bread wheat in northwest Mexico. Crop Science 37, 3642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sehirali, S., Genctan, T., Birsin, M. A., Zencirci, N. & Uckesen, B. (2000). The present and the future station of Turkish cereal and edible pulses production (in Turkish). In Turkish Agricultural Engineering V. Technical Congress, 17–21 January, Ankara, Turkey, pp. 431452.Google Scholar
Slafer, G. A. & Andrade, F. H. (1989). Genetic improvement in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) yield in Argentina. Field Crops Research 21, 289296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slafer, G. A. & Satorre, E. H. (1999). An introduction to the physiological–ecological analysis of wheat yield. In Wheat: Ecology and Physiology of Yield Determination (Eds Satorre, E. H. & Slafer, G. A.), pp. 312. New York: Food Product Press.Google Scholar
Slafer, G. A., Satorre, E. H. & Andrade, F. H. (1994). Increases in grain yield in bread wheat from breeding and associated physiological changes. In Genetic Improvement of Field Crops: Current Status and Development (Ed. Slafer, G. A.), pp. 168. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.Google Scholar
TUİK (2008). Turkish Crop Production Statistics. Available at: http://www.tuik.gov.tr/VeriBilgi.do?tb_id=45&ust_id=13 (verified 22 January 2009).Google Scholar
USDA (1998). Keys to Soil Taxonomy. 8th edn. Washington, DC: Natural Resources Conservation Service.Google Scholar
Waddington, S. R., Ransom, J. K., Osmanzai, M. & Saunders, D. A. (1986). Improvement in the yield potential of bread wheat adapted to Northwest Mexico. Crop Science 26, 698703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waggoner, P. E. (1994). How Much Land Can Ten Billion People Spare for Nature? Task Force Report, Number 121. Ames, IA: Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.Google Scholar
Ziska, L. H., Morris, C. F. & Goins, E. W. (2004). Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of selected wheat varieties released since 1903 to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide: can yield sensitivity to carbon dioxide be a factor in wheat performance? Global Change Biology 10, 18101819.CrossRefGoogle Scholar