Selected Wheat Germplasm Trial Evaluation for Semi-Arid Zone of Balochistan

Approximately 21.8% of the current agricultural land cultivates wheat. High-yielding wheat varieties that are tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses fulfil a large demand for wheat consumption, especially in the developing world. The Balochistan Agricultural Research and Development Centre, in Quetta (BARDC) held a field experiment to test and evolve wheat germplasm from the CIMMYT nursery semi-arid wheat yield trial (28 SAWYT) on 2022-23 for Balochistan. The experiment had 24 entries, as well as one control variety, Shalkot-14. The alpha-lattice design of the experiment included two replications. There were 25 plots, each measuring 3 m2 (4 rows x 0.25 m x 3 m long apart). We recorded a variety of parameters, including days to heading 50%, plant height (cm), days to maturity, spike length (cm), number of grains per spike, 1000 grain weight, total dry matter (Kg), canopy temperature, chlorophyll content, and grain yield.  The maximum (130) and minimum days to heading (118) was recorded in entries 16 and 8, respectively. Germplasm nos. 3 and 4 recorded the minimum plant height of 69.5 cm. Germplasm no. 20 recorded the maximum days to maturity (188.5 days), while germplasm no. 6 recorded the minimum days to maturity (174 days). Germplasm no. 14 recorded the maximum spike length of 13.0 cm, while germplasm no. 7 recorded the minimum mean spike length of 7.0 cm. Germplasm no. 21 recorded the maximum number of grains per spike (63.5), while germplasm no. 2 recorded the minimum number of grains per spike (50.5). A wide range (192200-13060kg) of total dry matter was found in entry 8 and entry 21, respectively.  Similar varied arrays were recorded in canopy temperature (28.0-34.0 °C) in entries 11 and 14, likewise maximum and minimum 1000 grain weight and yield was recorded in entry 7, 11 and 9, 6, respectively.