Screening of Greek wheat landraces for their yield responses under arid conditions

The present study was a part of a long time screening experiment that includeda high number of wheat landraces (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivated in Greece, andfocused on the agronomic point of view and the drought adaptation for some ofthese landraces. One of the most acceptable ways for the assessment of droughtresistance is the examination of yield and yield components in different waterregimes. Therefore, in our two-years experiments parameters of plants waterrelations and yield components such as grain yield, total biomass, number ofkernels per spike and mean grain weight were recorded for the several cultivars.The data obtained during the two experimental seasons clearly pointed out thedifferential behavior of wheat landraces under water stress conditions. Thepopulations that exhibited the greater adaptability (low bN) were Grinias Zakinthou(biomass, grain yield) and Skilopetra Ptolemaidas (harvest index, kernels per spike)and they could be used in breeding programs in Greece and other arid regions.