Yield comparison for synthetic-derived bread wheat genotypes with different water uptake abilities under increasing soil water deficits

Abstract

The drought stress in the rain-fed regions of West Asia and North Africa strongly depends on residual soil water available for the reproductive plant growth. The water uptake ability (i.e. water consumption per unit dry matter per day) of three synthetic-derived bread wheat genotypes, SYN-8, SYN-10 and SYN-15, and their parental variety Cham 6 were examined under controlled conditions. In addition, yield performance was compared under one artificial environment with supplemental irrigation and ten rain-fed environments at two locations over five cropping seasons. Large differences were found in water uptake ability among the four wheat genotypes; SYN-8 had the highest and SYN-10 the lowest ability. These differences were reflected in decrease of soil water content and increase of leaf temperature after irrigation. Under field conditions of supplemental irrigation, there were no significant differences in grain yield among genotypes Cham 6, SYN-8 and SYN-10; however, SYN-15 had lower grain yield due to low...