Variation in landraces of durum wheat (T. turgidum L. conv. durum (Desf.) M K.) from Turkey

Durum wheat is historically an important crop in Turkey. Diverse durum wheat germplasm has been recorded many times in Turkish collections. 812 single plant genotypes from 190 durum wheat populations of 23 provinces in Turkey have been studied for number of days to germination, tillering, shooting, heading, maturity, and yield per plant. Variation in samples for traits studied was large enough and subsamples with different characteristics were identified. Grouping samples into provinces and altitudes of origin have revealed that variation in samples existed for some traits depending on province and altitude of origin. Yield per plant were not correlated with any of the developmental stages: but developmental stages were correlated with each other in varying magnitudes. Variation in yield per plant was not explained as well by developmental stages studied under a dry-cold environment. Further studies on samples needed to explore genetic variation more for other traits of economic importance.