Performance of fourteen genotypes of durum wheat under Eastern Mediterranean conditions

Durum wheat is used as raw material for many foods. Climate change might be responsible for larger or smaller changes in crop yields. For the combined assessment of climate and crop, growing degree days (GDDs) have a crucial role. Two experimental lines and twelve commercial wheat (Triticum durum) varieties from diverse backgrounds were cultivated to compare their crop properties, yield, and protein content in terms of GDDs. The experiment was established in typical Mediterranean environment, using a randomized complete block design with blocks of varieties and lines for two growing seasons. For all varieties, GDDs to head emergence was affected by factor year, whereas GDDs from head emergence to harvest were influenced by both varieties and year. Protein content (%) was not affected by genotypes. Factor of variety and interaction variety × year had an impact on vitreousness; it was ranged from 79.75 % (‘Makaras’ variety) to 44.00 % (‘Levante’ variety). Yield had no statistically significant difference among varieties/lines. In durum wheat cultivation, up to head emergence, when GDDs increased, yield would be declined in contrast to GDDs from emergence to harvest; with the increasing of GDDs to harvest, yield was climbed. Nowadays, the integrations of and interpretation of GDDs in the evaluation of crop performance seem vital.