Wheat cultivars evaluation by agronomic traits, application of three nitrogen levels and nitrogen efficiency parameters

Abstract EN

Ten wheat cultivars (cv.) and three nitrogen levels were used in this field experiment which was conducted at the University of Kufa, Faculty of Agriculture, during the winter season of 2013..

The aim of this experiment was to compare ten wheat cv.

toward agronomic traits, nitrogen levels application and nitrogen efficiency parameters.

The 1 1 .

The wheat cv.

were selected to represent the experimental materials and they are listed in Table 1.

All agronomic traits values ( plant height PLH, spike length (SL), tillers number (TN), life tillers number (LTN), stem dry weight (SDW), leaf dry weight (LDW), grain dry weight (GDW) and total weight (TW) were increased as the nitrogen application levels increased.

Root dry weight RDW behaved differently in which RDW increased with decreasing nitrogen availability in soil.

Results revealed that total dry matter produced per unit nitrogen absorbed NE 1 averaged over the ten wheat cv.

increased where ever the availability of nitrogen in soil reduced.

The NE1 values was 60.91, 50.03 and 45.39 under nitrogen levels of Zero, 200 kg .

1 and 400 kg 1, respectively.

Similar trends were observed toward total grain yield per unit nitrogen absorbed NE2 and NE3, which was the product of the ratio of grain nitrogen to stover nitrogen, times NE2.

The ratio of grain nitrogen to stover nitrogen TEFF was represented transfer efficiency.

TEFF value behavior was different, in which its value increased as nitrogen level increased in soil.

Results also showed significant differences among wheat cv.

toward NE1, NE2, NE3 and TEFF.

.

Sham 9 cv.

had the highest NE1 value (61.518) while Tamous 2 gave the lowest (47.173).

Sham 9 and Tamous 2 behaved in the same manner toward NE2 and NE3 .

The ranking of wheat cv.

toward TEFF was different and sham 9 which was one of the highest in NE1, NE2, and NE3 came the last in TEFF.

It could be concluded that cv.

with low values of NE1, NE2 and NE3 are not necessarily have low grain yield.