Impact of late sowing on morphological and yield traits in 40s bread wheat

Abstract

The unpredictability and large fluctuations of climatic conditions in rainfed regions influence spring wheat yield and grain quality. These variations offer opportunities for the production of better quality wheat. The effect of late sowing on wheat morphology and grain yield was studied in 40 bread wheat genotypes at the research farm of PBG, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during 2013–14. Forty wheat genotypes were tested under normal and late sowing in a 5 × 8 alpha lattice design with three replicates. Combined analysis of variance exhibited significant genotype × environment interactions for days to heading, flag leaf area, days to maturity, plant height, spikes m^-2, grains spike^-1, 1000-grain weight, biomass yield, grain yield, and harvest index. Days to emergence, heading, and maturity ranged from 9 to 12, 111 to 121, and 155 to 164 days under normal planting, while under late planting they ranged from 25 to 29, 95 to 107, and 137 to 143 days, respectively. Mean data under normal planting ranged between 77 to 125 cm, 25 to 41 cm², 99 to 199, 10 to 13 cm, 32 to 49, 52 to 88 g, 8533 to 13,667 kg, 1869 to 4681 kg, and 21 to 35% for plant height, flag leaf area, spikes m^-2, spike length, grains spike^-1, 1000-grain weight, biomass yield, grain yield, and harvest index, respectively. Under late planting, the ranges were 63 to 91 cm, 18 to 37 cm², 57 to 137, 8 to 12 cm, 22 to 52, 36 to 75 g, 2400 to 7933 kg, 540 to 2739 kg, and 20 to 42% for the same traits, respectively. Wheat genotypes planted under late conditions took the maximum number of days to emerge, while fewer days were required for wheat genotypes planted under normal sowing dates to mature. Late planting negatively affected all yield-contributing traits, such as spikes m^-2 (29%), grains spike^-1 (18%), 1000-grain weight (29%), biomass (55%), and grain yield (50%). On the basis of the current study, genotype SRN 19111 was identified as superior for 1000-grain weight, biomass yield, and grain yield under normal planting, while genotype PR-107 exhibited higher grain yield under late planting. Therefore, these genotypes are recommended for further extensive testing.