Aflak, A New Bread Wheat Cultivar, Resistant to Yellow and Leaf Rusts and Terminal Heat Stress for Cultivation under Irrigated Conditions in Southern Warm and Dry Areas of Iran

Line S-80-18 (Deberia) a spring bread wheat line with pedigree of HD160/5/Tob/Cno/23854/3/Nai60//Tit/Son64/4/LR/Son64 was selected from the High Temperature Wheat Yield Trial, received from CIMMYT and evaluated at Zabol research station in 1994-95 cropping season. As a superior line, it was advanced to the Preliminary Yield Trial at Zabol station in 1995-96 cropping season. Due to high grain yield and desirable agronomic characteristics, it was further evaluated in a replicated yield trial at Zabol during 1998-99 cropping season and later in the Preliminary Regional Wheat Yield Trial of the southern warm and dry agro-climatic zone of Iran in five research stations of Ahvaz, Darab, Zabol, Iranshahr and Dezful in 1999-2000, where this line out-yielded Chamran (improved check) by more than 7%. The new line was advanced to the Advanced Regional Wheat Yield Trial for further evaluation in Ahvaz, Darab, Zabol and Dezful in 2001-01, and again yielded 5.2% more than Chamran. The adaptability and grain yield stability of this line was evaluated for two years in Elite Regional Wheat Yield Trial in six stations of Ahvaz, Darab, Zabol, Iranshahr, Dezful and Khorramabad during 2001-2003 cropping seasons. The results confirmed the wide adaptability and grain yield stability of the new line, therefore, it was finally evaluated in on-farm trials in different locations across the southern dry and warm areas of Iran in 2003-04 cropping season. Considering high grain yield, high resistance to stripe and leaf rust, exhibited in different hot spots locations, good grain quality (protein contents of 11-13.2%) as well as good agronomic performance including earliness, resistance to terminal heat stress and shattering, this line was officially introduced in Iran with the name of Aflak in 2010.