EFFECT OF WATER STRESS ON YIELD AND ITS COMPOSANTSOF SOME CEREALS IN ALGERIA

In this study an attempt is made to study agronomic characters of adaptation to drought in yield and its composants under dry land and in irrigated conditions:25 barley varieties ( 16 of French origin, 7 of Syrian origin and 2 of Algerian origin ), 1 variety of durum wheat ( DURELLE, Fance) and 1 variety of triticale (CLERCAL, France)were compared during two successive years 2003/2004. A net effect on most agronomic characters was noticed, with the exception of the thousand –kernel weight in the second year trial. The moderate water defi cit ( conditions in the Ouest Algerian zone) allowed French varieties to perform better in both conditions than Algerian and Syrian varieties because they are considered to be tolerante to drought.