EFFECTS OF FOLIAR METHANOL APPLICATIONS ON YIELD OF BREAD WHEAT CULTIVARS GROWN UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of foliar met hanol applications on wheat cultivars widely grown in Central Anatolia , Turkey. Two bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars ''Gerek 79' ' and ''Bezostaja-1'' were used. Methanol solutions with 20% (v/v) wer e applied at early shooting, late shooting and heading stages and as t heir combinations under rainfed and irrigated field conditions in two locations, Konya and Cumra, in 1993-1994 crop season. Total biomass, g rain yield, spike number per square meter, grain number per spike, tho usand kernel weight, harvest index, plant height, days to heading, and days to maturity after anthesis were evaluated. For most of these tra its, the differences between cultivars and between rainfed and irrigat ed conditions were highly significant. However, methanol applications at different growth stages was totally ineffective on all traits, indi cating that methanol does not seem to have a potential for yield incre ases in wheat under Central Anatolia conditions in Turkey.