مشخصات پژوهش

Drought stress is a widespread problem influencing durum wheat production, but the development of tolerant genotypes is hampered by the lack of effective selection criteria. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the ability of several selection indices to identify tolerant genotypes. Fourteen durum wheat genotypes were evaluated under both drought stress and non-stress environments using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Twelve drought tolerance indices were used based on grain yield under stress (YP) and non-stress (YS) conditions. Genotypes G3 (4,032 ± 448 kg ha-1) and G4 (4,025 ± 444 kg ha-1) had the highest yield under non-stress condition, while genotype G8 (2,702 ± 336 kg ha-1) displayed the highest performance under stress conditions. Some genotypes including G1, G3, G6, G8, and G14 had high performances in both stress and non-stress conditions. Genotypes performed differently to drought stress, which justifies screening durum wheat for both yield and drought tolerance. Therefore, the modified stress susceptibility index (STI)-based indices (K1STI and K2STI) can discriminate drought tolerant genotypes with high grain yield under both non-stress and stress conditions. Finally, the genotype G3 (4,032 kg ha-1 in non-stress and 2,573 kg ha-1 in stress conditions) besides genotype G8 (3,773 kg ha-1 at non-stress and 2,702 kg ha-1 at stress conditions) were the most favorable genotypes and could be recommended for future recommendation.