Performance Evaluation of Different Wheat Varieties under Agro-Ecological Conditions of Quetta (Balochistan)

Abstract

A field trial was conducted during the year 2012-13 to evaluate the performance of different wheat varieties under agro-ecological conditions of Quetta (Balochistan). The experiment was laid out in a three replicated Randomized Complete Block Design having net plot size of 5.0x1.2m (6.0 m²) at the experimental fields of Agriculture Research Institute, Quetta. Five promising wheat varieties (Rakhshan-10, Zardana, Sariab-95, Rasco-2005 and Tijaban-10) were evaluated for their growth and yield performance. Variety Rasco-2005 surpassed all the varieties in this study for growth and yeid performance, followed by Zardana and Rakhshan-10. Rasco-2005 produced highest grain yield (5357.60 kg ha^-1), followed by Zardana (5157.60 kg ha^-1), Rakhshan-10 (5025.60 kg ha^-1), Tijaban-10 (4553.20 kg ha^-1) while lowest grain yield (4271.20 kg ha^-1) was recorded in Sariab-95. Hence, variety Rasco-2005, Zardana and Rakhshan-10 were the most promising varieties, while Tijaban-10 also showed promising performance and could be a good addition to the pipeline wheat varieties of Balochistan.

Keywords:Wheat, varieties, growth, biological yield, grain yield