Evaluation of morpho - physiological traits in some Triticum urartu populations from Iran under normal and water deficit stress conditions

In order to evaluate the effect of water deficit stress on agronomic and morpho-physiological traits in eight populations of the Triticum urartu species an experiment was experiment was conducted using a split plot design based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Research Station of Faculty of Agriculture، Tabriz University in 2010-2011. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences among populations in approximately all traits except of number of total tillers per plant، total weight of spike، harvest index، chlorophyll index، and duration of grain filling، indicating the existence of genetic variation among populations. Genetic coefficient of variation were high for most traits such as leaf area، biomass، harvest index and grain yield per plant under both stress and control conditions. Based on yield related traits، populations collected from Marivan and Songhor were more drought tolerant. Cluster analysis grouped populations in two clusters that tolerant populations were placed in one separate cluster. In general، results of this study showed that wild einkorn populations (Triticum urartu) of Iran، especially populations from Kermanshah and Kurdistan provinces were more tolerant to water deficit regarding morpho- physiological and agronomic traits.