Plant populations for triticale in a mediterranean environment

Abstract

Plant population experiments with triticale were conducted for three seasons using a range of agronomic treatments at Aleppo, Syria. The optimum population (the population resulting in maximum grain yield) was higher under higher yielding conditions and varied between about 80 and 190 plants per m2 for grain yield levels ranging from 2.1 to 6.9 t/ha. This corresponds to optimum seed rates of from about 30 to 150 kg/ha depending upon seed size and expected field establishment.

Yield at the optimum population was also strongly correlated with growing season water supply indicating that selection of a plant population that matches the expected w

There was a strong positive correlation between grain yield and the length of the grain maturation period. However, since the length of this period can be severely curtailed by high atmospheric evaporative demand and reduced water supply in Mediterranean environments, selection of varieties with a reduced grain filling period could lead to a reduction in risk in triticale production.

Further, yield at the optimum population was more closely related to kernel size than to tiller or spike number and was not significantly related to spike size (seeds per spike). This also demonstrates the dependence of triticale yield on conditions during the grain filling period.