Distinction et homogénéité de cinq populations algériennes de blé dur ("Triticum Durum" Desf.)

Résumé

Five local populations of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) were investigated in 1993-1994 at two contrasting locations in the Setif area (Algeria). Twenty-eight qualitative characteristics were considered, as suggested by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (Tables 1 and 2). This analysis was mainly aimed at assessing distinctness and uniformity of Ziban (ZB), Oued-Zenati 368 (OZ), Bidi 17 (BD), Hedba 3 (HD) and Mohamed Ben Bachir (MBB) wheat populations. A combination of various statistical procedures was used to analyse the data: mutual information criteria to distinguish between populations; the least squares procedure, analysis of variance and intraclass correlations to test uniformity. Distinctness analysis revealed two stable and similar groups of populations at both locations (Figures 1A, B and C). The first group was represented by MBB and ZB with 11 distinct characteristics in the northern part of the area and 12 in the centre. The second group was represented by OZ, BD and HD. OZ and BD were found to have 6 distinct traits in the north and 3 in the center. HD differed from OZ and BD by 14 traits in the north and by 12 in the centre. The differences between populations noted at the two locations highlighted that all of these wheat populations are distinct. The differences were highly significant (P > .01) but not the same at both locations, indicating that location is a critical factor in determining differences between populations. Twenty intraclass correlations were highly significant in the north and 14 in the centre (P < .0001). We conclude that the wheat populations differed with respect to many traits (Tables 3 and 4). Our classification is similar to that drawn up in 1961, confirming that local durum wheat populations are still distinct and thus valid for further wheat breeding projects.