Synthetic bread wheat has been reported to
be a good source for many abiotic stresses, including drought tolerance. In
this study 20 synthetic bread wheat derivatives in addition to 4 normal bread
wheat genotypes from ICARDA breeding program were evaluated for yield and other
agronomic characters under two environments, severe drought stress and reduced
stress via one supplemental irrigation, to identify high-yielding moisture
stress tolerant genotypes. Evaluations were carried out over two seasons at Tel
Hadya in Northern Syria. Split-plot design
with three replications was used. Data recorded included crop phenology, grain
yield and yield components and in addition drought susceptibility index was
calculated. Highly significant differences
among genotypes were observed for all traits. Drought stress significantly
reduced crop phenology, plant height, biomass and yield. A range of 12% to 50%
reduction in grain yield due to drought stress was observed. Genotypes that
exhibited high yield stability across severe and reduced drought stress were
identified. Such genotypes are of considerable interest for research on drought
stress and water-use efficiency and are of great value to breeding programs.