Rijaw, A New Bread Wheat Cultivar for Rainfed and Supplemental Irrigation in Moderate Cold Regions of Iran

Line TO/CAL/3/7C//Bb/CNO/5/CAL//CNO/Sn64/4/CNO//Bad/DAR/3/KL/6/Sabalan was received from ICARDA under International Winter Wheat Improvement in 1999-2000 cropping season. Based on its favorable agronomic characteristics, it was selected for further evaluations in advanced and elite yield trials in main research stations of Dryland Agricultural Research Institute (DARI) and on farm yield trials in moderate cold and cold regions of Iran. The results of these experiments revealed that this line was more tolerant to drought and yellow rust, produced significantly higher and more stable yield than the check cultivars and showed good performance in rainfed and supplemental irrigation conditions. One of the best features of this line is its earliness. Days to heading and maturity in this line were 10 to 12 days earlier than those of Sardari and Azar-2 check cultivars and due to this feature it escapes from terminal drought and heat stresses, therefore grain shriveling in this line is relatively less than in Sardari and Azar-2. Grains of this line also have very good bread quality with 12.5 percent of protein. Based on its superiority and good performance compared to the check cultivars in main stations of DARI and farmer’s field, this line was introduced and named “Rijaw” in 2010 and recommended for cultivation at rainfed and supplemental irrigation conditions in moderate cold regions of Iran.