Study of Phenological Traits and Their Relation with Yield Potential in Wheat

The time of duration of plant developmental stages could have an effect on crop yield and adaptation in a specific environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phenological behavior in a wide range of wheat cultivars and their relation with adaptation and potential of crop production in a specific climate (semi-arid and cold). By using a simple lattice design with three replications in irrigated condition 36 genotypes of wheat were evaluated at the university of Tehran research farm during 2010-2011 growing season. Different stages of development، including emergence، stem elongation، booting، heading and anthesis were recorded. At maturity، grain yield، 1000 kernel weight، number of kernels per spike، biological yield، and harvest index were measured. Dry matter production was determined at the end of the cool season. Mean separation was accomplished with Duncan test at the 5% level of significance and correlations were determined between traits. The results showed that cultivars with similar date of anthesis showed a different duration of stem elongation due to shortening of previous growth stages. Duration of booting to anthesis (floret death stage) effected on grain number. In the present experiment، late flowering significantly reduced yield. Cultivars with higher dry matter production at the end of the cool season entered earlier to reproductive stage and had more tillers.