ENVIRONMENT EFFECT IN BREAD WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) ON YIELD AND QUALITY PARAMETERS UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS

The experiment was carried out to assess the environmental effect on the yield of bread wheat cultivars under rainfed conditions. A total of five bread wheat cultivars were tested across seven environments during the 2010-2011 and 2016-2017 growing cycle in Edirne location in the Trakia region, Turkey. Each year was considered as a single environment. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with four replications. Grain yield, days of heading, plant height, 1000-kernel weight, test weight, protein ratio, wet gluten content, gluten index and sedimentation value were investigated. The results of variance analysis revealed significant differences (p<0.01) among cultivars, environments and environments × cultivars interaction for yield. The lowest grain yield was 4454 kg ha-1 in 2015-2016 cycles in E6, and the highest was 8158 kg ha-1 in 2013-2014 growing cycle in environment E4. The highest grain yield was performed by cultivar Gelibolu (7234 kg ha-1) and the lowest by Aldane (6485 kg ha-1). Environment influenced the characters studied and very significant variation was found between environments. According to the environmental effect, the highest protein ratio, wet gluten content and sedimentation value were determined in environment E1. The highest 1000-kernel weight was determined in E4 and the test weight was in E2. While the Selimiye variety was the most stable in terms of yield, 1000-kernel weight and sedimentation value, the Pehlivan variety was the most stable in terms of test weight. The existence of different interactions between cultivars and environments showed the importance of genotype-environment interaction in breeding studies. The result of the study showed that for an effective selection of genotypes in breeding studies, studies should be carried out under different environmental conditions.