Response of Bulgarian triticale cultivars to unfavorable environments

Hristo Stoyanov

Abstract: The potential for high yield from cultural plants such as triticale is related to the increase of the stability and plasticity of the cultivars. Therefore, it is necessary to test the different genotypes under variable conditions of the environment. However, specific deviations from the normal weather are being observed increasingly more often, related to limited and local phenomena, which, however, are the reason for strong decrease of yields. In order to study the response of triticale under such conditions, eleven cultivars, bred in Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute, were tested under two contrasting periods - 2014/2015 (favorable) and 2017/2018 (extremely unfavorable). The parameters days to heading, plant height, number of productive tillers, number of grains in spike, 1000 kernel weight, weight of grains in spike, yield and test weight were determined. The absolute and relative differences for each parameter and cultivar between two compared periods were established. The obtained results showed that the heading during the period unfavorable for triticale occurred with averagely 9 days earlier. In economic year 2017/2018, plant height did not follow the tendency typical for the investigated genotypes – cultivars Atila, Bumerang and Blagovest were with lower height than the typically shorter cultivars such as Vihren and Kolorit. The number of grains in spike during the unfavorable period was influenced by the considerably higher air temperatures in May, which was the reason for the lower yields. The late harvesting had significant effect on 1000 kernel weight, yield and test weight due to the long-lasting intermittent rainfalls in July of 2018. Cultivar Bumerang was characterized with highest yields and high plasticity based on the differences in the components of the yields between the two contrasting periods; this makes it highly valuable for growing in practice under the different soil and climatic conditions of Bulgaria.

Keywords: abiotic stress; components of yield; conditions of the environment; triticale; yield

Date published: 2020-12-07