Seeding Rate Influence on Yield and Yield Components of Irrigated Winter Wheat in a Mediterranean Climate

Abstract

It is difficult to establish agronomic practices for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in Mediterranean regions because of high annual variability in rainfall. Plant density is a factor of particular importance in wheat production systems because it can be controlled. This study was conducted to determine the optimum seeding rates of Mediterranean types of wheat in irrigated Mediterranean systems. Field experiments were conducted under irrigation at two locations of the Ebro Valley, Spain, during two growing seasons, 1999–2000 and 2000–2001. Six seeding rates were compared: 150, 175, 250, 300, 400, and 500 seeds m−2 with four adapted wheat varieties including a hybrid wheat. Seeding rate affected grain yield and yield components in three of the four environments, but its effect varied with the environment. The plant densities giving the highest yields were at least 400 to 500 plants m−2 for most of the varieties studied. The results suggest that the rate of seeding under irrigation for Mediterranean areas might be higher than those used in other wheat‐growing areas.

Effect of seeding rate on grain quality of winter wheat

“…Seeding rates in wheat can vary widely due to differences in seed quality, planting conditions, planting dates, and planting equipment or system being used. The results suggest that lower seeding rates may be adequate under excellent growing conditions (Lloveras et al, 2004). Seeding rate should be considered as a factor in obtaining higher grain yield with good enduse quality (Geleta et al, 2002).…”

“…They pointed out that seeding rate is a predictable environmental factor that affects some agronomic and enduse quality traits of wheat; therefore, it should be studied carefully to obtain higher grain yields with better end-use quality. Lloveras et al (2004) and Otteson et al (2007) established that kernel weight was significantly affected by environment and variety, but not by seeding rate.…”

“…Changes in seeding density have special importance in wheat crops since they have a direct effect on grain yield and its components (Lithourgidis et al, 2006;Ozturk et al, 2006) according to the cultivation environment (Lloveras et al, 2004).…”

“…Also, the highest kernel yield was achieved with sowing rate 600 germinable seeds m -2 (Kristó et al, 2007;Maric et al, 2008). On the other hand, various sowing rates had highly significant influence on the number of fertile tillers (Khaliq et al, 1999;Chaudhry and Hussain, 2001;Wajid et al, 2004), and that sowing rate influences mainly of number of spikes per square meter, which has the closest relationship to yield from all yield components (Spink et al, 2000;Guberac et al, 2000;Lloveras et al, 2004;Stougaard and Xue, 2004;Guberac et al, 2005;Lithourgidis et al, 2006;Ozturk et al, 2006).…”

“…Numerous studies have documented how N fertilization (Campillo et al, 2010;Hirzel et al, 2010;Zecevic et al, 2010;Nikolic et al, 2012), seeding rate, planting date, row spacing, and seeding depth affect yield and yield components of wheat (Wajid et al, 2004;Guberac et al, 2005;Schillinger, 2005;Kristó et al, 2007;Maric et al, 2008;Otteson et al, 2008;Valério et al, 2009). Seeding rates for winter wheat can vary widely due to differences in seed quality, planting conditions, planting dates and planting equipment (Lloveras et al, 2004).…”