‘Amina’, ‘Dioufissa’, and ‘Haby’: Heat tolerant durum wheat cultivars adapted to the Senegal River Basin

Abstract

Senegalese are consumers of pasta, couscous, and other semolina products, which are obtained from durum wheat [Triticum turgidum L. durum (Desf)] grain imports. The Senegal River farming system offers a short dry winter season (harmattan) that is suitable for the cultivation of heat tolerant durum wheat. Hence, delivering super-early high-yielding and heat tolerant durum cultivars was a major goal in this region. ‘Amina’ (Reg. no. CV-1217, PI 708102), ‘Dioufissa’ (Reg. no. CV-1218, PI 708103), and ‘Haby’ (Reg. no. CV-1219, PI 708104) are durum wheat cultivars released in 2020 for cultivation in Senegal and West Africa after 4 years of multi-locations testing. All three are elite lines field-selected at the research farms of Fanaye in Senegal and Kaedi in Mauritania, both of which are located along the Senegal River. These cultivars are released jointly by the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA), National Center for the Agricultural Research and development (CNRADA) in Mauritania, and the International Center for the Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Morocco because of their adaptation to hot irrigated conditions, early maturity, higher grain yield and good grain quality.