ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER
Variability of agronomic traits among different wheat cultivars from Croatia under agro ecological conditions of Kosovo Shukri FETAHU, Imer RUSINOVCI, Sali ALIU, Qëndrim SHABANI, Avni BELULI, Refki ZOGAJ University of Prishtina, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, Boulevard“Bill Clinton”N.N., 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo, (e-mail:
[email protected] and
[email protected])
Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate variability of plant biomass (PB), grain number per spike (GNS), spike weight (SW), grain yield (GY) and harvest index (HI) in thirteen Croatian wheat cultivars under agro ecological conditions of Kosovo and to determine correlations among studied traits. Field trials were conducted during the growing seasons 2010/11 and 2011/12, at the Plant Testing units of Seed company “Semenarna Kosovё” sh.p.k., Prishtina, in Livadhi. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among years and cultivars as well as a highly significant year × cultivar interaction for all five investigated traits. The studied cultivars varied to the highest extent for PB, GNS and SW. The strength of correlation among different traits varied considerably between the two years. Based on the results (yield components) cultivars Mira, Matea, Marina, Sana and Prima could be recommended for commercial production. Key words: plant biomass, wheat cultivars, spike traits, yield, harvest index Introduction Because of the lack of national wheat breeding programs, wheat production in Kosovo depends on seed quality imported from abroad: Serbia, Croatia, Austria and France, as well as on amount of seed multiplications in Kosovo (Fetahu et al. 2008). The achievement of high yields of wheat cultivars is influenced by their ability for adaptation in narrow or wide area, and their specific reaction to the environmental conditions. The information on cultivar response to specific environmental changes can help in predicting their performance in respect to grain quality under certain combination of growing conditions (Yong et al. 2004; Drezner et al. 2006). Creation of cultivars with high production potential and excellent quality, which meets market requirements, is the goal of each breeding program (Williams et al. 2008). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate variability of plant biomass, spike traits, grain yield and harvest index in thirteen Croatian wheat cultivars, under growth conditions of Kosovo, and to determine correlations among studied traits. Materials and methods A field trial including thirteen wheat cultivars, Matea, Renata, Dora, Sana, Gabi, Viktoria, Lenta, Luna, Mira, Marina, Mihelca, Prima and Lira, was conducted during the growing seasons 2010/11 (2011) and 2011/12 (2012) at the Plant Testing units of Seed Company “Semenarna Kosovё” shpk, in the Livadhi, located in geographical position: N42º05’54”, E21º06’36” and 581m.a.s.l. The experiment was set up according to randomised complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The plot size was 15 m2, with sowing rate of 500 grain m-2, Before ploughing 300 kg ha-1 NPK (15:15:15) was applied and 90 kg ha-1 N was added in spring. During the growth period, normal agronomic weed control was applied.
Proceedings . 50th Croatian and 10th International Symposium on Agriculture . Opatija . Croatia (226–229)
226
50th Croatian and 10th International Symposium on Agriculture
Variability of agronomic traits among different wheat cultivars from Croatia under agro ecological conditions of Kosovo
The measurements were conducted at the field and laboratory. At harvest maturity, from each experimental plot 10 randomly selected plants were harvested manually and threshed on machine separately. Plant biomass (PB) g plant-1, grain number per spike (GNS), spike weight (SW) g spike-1, and grain yield (GY) g m-2, were measured on each plant. Harvest index (HI), was calculated on percentage basis, using the following formula: HI = (GY / PB) × 100, where HI is harvest index (%), GY grain yield and PB plant biomass The data for all traits were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Differences among means were tested by least significance difference (LSD) test at P
