The phenology of durum wheat in relation to its phenology

Durum wheat is a strategic crop, grown both rainfed and irrigated. This study is based on the evaluation of grain and straw production of five durum wheat varieties grown under rainfed conditions in northern Tunisia. These varieties are Khiar, Karim, Sobirno, Nasr and Razzek. Water uptake was assessed during each phenological stage of durum wheat. These stages are i) germination-rising, ii) tillering, iii) bolting-swelling and iv) heading-flowering and grain filling. This study revealed that Nasr and Sobirano recorded the highest performance in rainwater use to give good yields, achieved during the grain-filling phase. However, at the end of the tillering phase, which marks the end of the vegetative period and the start of the reproductive phase, we found that Karim, Nasr and Sobirano recorded high values compared with other varieties from the same site. These initial results are encouraging, and can serve as a basis for further work to improve wheat production under Mediterranean conditions.