Leaf Senescence in Wheat: A Drought Tolerance Measure

The present study was conducted on the experimental site of INRAA, unit research of Setif. A set of 10 genotypes of durum wheat ( Triticum durum Desf.) planted during four cropping seasons (2009 – 2013). The objectives of this study are to evaluate the performance of some durum wheat genotypes and tested the efficiency of using senescence parameters in screening under semi-arid conditions. The analysis of variance demonstrates significant effects of genotypes and years on the grain yield and senescence parameters. Based on the means comparison, the values of total mean grain yield (2009 – 2013) varied from 37.84 q/ha for Oued Zenati to 44.7 q/ha for Altar84 with general mean of 42.71 q/ha. The mean rankings based on the mean grain yield demonstrate that the genotypes Mexicali75, Hoggar, and Sooty have the best ranking with highest grain yield. The mean values over years of Sa% varied between 47.91% for the genotype Oued Zenati and 59.45% for Waha. The genotypes with highest values for the parameter mid-senescence ( Σ 50s ) are the most tolerant and adapted genotypes.