Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp durum) improvement during the past 67-year in Algeria: Performance assessment of a set of local varieties under rainfed conditions of the eastern high plateaus.

A field experiment was conducted during the 2017/18 cropping season at the Field Crop Agricultural Experimental Station Institute of Setif, Algeria. The study aimed to investigate the performance and variability of agro-morphological traits present in a set of local durum wheat varieties, registered during the 1950–2017 period and to estimate grain increase and to identify concurrent trait changes accompanying yield increase. The results indicated ample variation for the measured traits. Multivariate analysis grouped the assessed varieties into: high vs low grain yield, tall, late vs early and dwarf and high fertility, low kernel weight vs low fertility, high kernel weight varieties. Post-green revolution varieties performed significantly more than traditional varieties in terms of grain yield, yield components and harvest index. Local varieties were taller, late to head and had high straw yield. Grain yield genetic progress over time was estimated to be equal to 11.56kg/ha/year. Differences between local and recently released varieties are ascribed to Rht genes. To make the best use of desirable characteristics from local and modern varieties, it is suggested to further investigate the variation of dwarfing genes in the tested plant material. This allows to design a breeding program promoting the development of new germplasm more adapted to rain-fed south Mediterranean environments, through selection for dwarfing genes, like Rht24 and Rht8, which express minor effects on the desirable traits in low yield environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]