RESISTANCE TO LEAF RUST IN COMMERCIAL WHEAT VARIETIES OF SINDH AND THEIR AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE UNDER DIFFERENT SOWING REGIMES

Abstract

To evaluate the response of ten commercial wheat varieties of Sindh province under different sowing dates for grain yield, its associated traits and leaf rust disease resistance, an experiment was carried out at research field of Nuclear Institute of Agriculture Tandojam, Pakistan during 2013-14. Results revealed that the late planting decreased 1000-grain weight, grain yield per plant, grain yield per plot, biological yield per plot, harvest index, ten grains length and ten grains width among wheat varieties along severe leaf rust disease infection. Mean comparison demonstrated that early planted varieties produced highest 1000-grain weight (50.25 g), grain yield per plant(21.5 g) and grain yield per plot (405.3 g) escaping thermal stress and disease infestation. Three varieties planted at normal sowing; NIA-Amber, Sassui and Sarsabz performed better with 1000-grain weight (40-43g). On the other hand, the varieties Khirman and NIA-Saarang had the highest 1000-grain weight (37.6-39.7g) under late sowing indicating their tolerance to heat stress. Results suggest that there is strong influence of weather over genotypic performance and it is advisable for farmers to cultivate wheat crop at optimum time to get maximum harvest and minimize the leaf rust disease infestation.