Salt tolerance classification of winter cereal varieties according to grain yield performance and water use efficiency

Abstract

Irrigation management with nonconventional waters (saline water, reused drainage-water, waste-water) require the identification of varieties which are adapted to saline conditions. The study aims to identify the varieties which combine high yield with the efficiency in using irrigation waters of different qualities. Durum wheat, barley and winter wheat showed an ascendant curvilinear relationship between grain yield and water use efficiency. The durum wheat varieties showed large differences in grain yield that increased at increasing salinity. Barley also showed large differences between the varieties, even more pronounced than durum wheat but not increasing with salinity. Among the bread wheat varieties only one variety was less suitable under saline conditions. The durum wheat varieties (Cham.1 and Belikh.2) and the barley varieties (California Mariout) and Melusine/ A) present a combination of high yield and high water use efficiency in a saline environment, whereas the bread wheat variety (Johara.14) is less suitable under saline conditions than the other varieties. The varietal selection combining high yield and high water use efficiency constitutes an important point with respect to managing irrigation with saline waters.