IDENTIFICATION OF BREAD WHEAT, DURUM-WHEAT AND BARLEY CULTIVARS ADAPTED TO DRY ARES OF SOUTHERN ITALY

Among the cultivars of bread wheat, durum wheat and barley grown in th e South of Italy, genetic variation for adaptation to the high tempera ture and drought stress conditions typical of the Mediterranean enviro nment has been found. The basic data have been extrapolated from 5 yea rs of Italian national network cultivar trials, where 20-30 cultivars were grown in replicated plot trials in 30-50 locations per year, incl uding some where stress strongly affected grain yield. After careful i dentification of the most representative years and testing sites it wa s possible to characterise the cultivars on the basis of the grain yie ld in stress conditions and the Fischer & Maurer (1978) susceptibility index and to find genotypic differences sufficiently repeatable in ye ars. The cultivars giving the best yield under stress associated with low susceptibility indices were in bread wheat: Etruria, Spada, Pandas , Centauro, Oderzo, Costantino and Gladio, in durum wheat: Aldura, Arc angelo, Adamello, Vespro and Capeiti, in barley: Fleuret, Barberousse, Jaidor, Express, Trebbia, Georgie, Dahlia, Criter and Magie.