ASSESSMENT OF SULPHUR EFFICIENCY OF DURUM AND BREAD WHEAT GENOTYPES

A greenhouse experiment has been carried out to evaluate the effects of sulphur (S) applications on shoot dry matter, spad value, S and nitrogen (N) concentrations of 35 bread and 18 durum wheat cultivars. Plants were grown with a control and 100 ppm S soil treatments. Shoot dry matter of durum (63%) and bread (74%) wheat cultivars significantly increased (P<0.01) with S application and the difference in S efficiency between wheat varieties was significant. Sulphur and N concentrations of shoot were also increased with S application. The S applications in bread wheat cultivars slightly affected the N concentrations of shoot, whereas N concentrations of durum wheat cultivars significantly varied (P<0.01) with S application. The results revealed that S deficiency lead to a significant decline in shoot dry matters of wheat cultivars, and deficiency can be eliminated by S application during planting.