MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS VARIABILITY OF THE A4-10 WINTER WHEAT LINE UNDER CURRENT CLIMATE CONDITIONS

Abstract

Currently, wheat plants know permanent evolutions of productive potential, of quality and of different resistances. The morphology of the plant in general, as well as the production elements: ears, grains and mass of a thousand grains, know true performances. The expression of the morphological characters of the plants is, however, closely related to the natural provision of water. Being a plant that capitalizes on moisture, frequently encounters periods of deficit, especially during the period of depositing dry matter in the grains. The intensity of these drought periods causes some decreases in the expression of plant and grain morphology respectively. In the present research, the appearance of the plants is compared together with the production elements obtained in three different years, namely one with a favorable background and two dry years. From the obtained data, the plants of line A.4-10 affected by drought had a smaller height by 3-7 cm and stem thicknesses reduced by 0.15 mm. The length of the ear was shorter by 1.5 cm, the number of grains in an ear was 18 less, and the mass of the grains was also reduced by 0.9 g. The mass of a thousand grains decreased by about 3 g. Correlations between characters were positive and statistically well supported. Straw length was negatively correlated with the other characters, possibly due to the reduced waist obtained in its breeding.