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 included a high number of wheat landraces (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivated in Greece, and focused on the agronomic point of view and the drought adaptation for some of these landraces. One of the most acceptable ways for the assessment of drought resistance is the examination of yield and yield components in different water regimes. Therefore, in our two-years experiments parameters of plants water relations and yield components such as grain yield, total biomass, number of kernels per spike and mean grain weight were recorded for the several cultivars. The data obtained during the two experimental seasons clearly pointed out the differential behavior of wheat landraces under water stress conditions. The populations 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.