FREEZING HARDINESS OF SOME ACCESSIONS OF <i>Triticum tauschii</i> AND <i>T</i>. <i>turgidum</i> L. var. <i>durum</i>

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the variation for high- and low-intensity freezing resistance in 51 accessions of Triticum tauschii (Coss.) Schmal. and 35 accessions of T. turgidum L. var. durum. Freezing resistance ranged from non-hardy to as hardy as T. aestivum ’Winoka’ for T. tauschii under both the high- and low-intensity freeze test. Although the T. turgidum var. durum accessions were less hardy than Winoka in the high intensity test, some accessions of this species approached the hardiness of Winoka in the low-intensity test. This suggests that T. tauschii and T. turgidum var. durum could be used as gene sources for improving winter hardiness in hexaploid wheat.Key words: Freezing hardiness, Triticum tauschii, Triticum turgidum L. var. durum