Afef Othmani

• Institut national agronomique de Tunisie (INAT)

Water deficit is the major factor limiting durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) production and productivity. In this context, a first experiment was conducted to study the effect of seed priming by glycine betaine (GB) on the germination of durum wheat under water deficit stress induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000). Five treatments were applied...

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting agricultural production. This stress has negative effects on the quality, production and productivity of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.), especially in arid and semi-arid areas. This work focused on i) the effect of seed priming by salicylic acid (SA) on durum wheat germination under drought...

Adopting sustainable agricultural practices is considered as an effective strategy to mitigate climate change and to improve soil health and crop production.This study aims to assess the impact of tillage systems (no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT)), crop rotation (faba beans - oat and faba beans - durum wheat) and nitrogen fertilization...

Salinity stress is an important environmental factor that limits plant growth and productivity in the world. The effect of seed priming with glycine betaine (GB) on the germination of four durum wheat varieties (Salim, Maâli, Monastir and Carioca) under salt stress conditions induced by sodium chloride (NaCl) were investigated. Three concentrations...

The overuse of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in crop farming has led to a decrease in crop quality and negative impacts on soil and the environment. It is crucial to adopt alternative strategies to maintain soil and environmental quality while enhancing crop growth and yield. To explore this, a study was conducted under greenhouse conditions...

In the literature, little information is available on the effect of Selenium (Se) on durum wheat yield and grain quality performances. A field investigation was conducted to explore the effect of exogenous Se foliar supply on two types of durum wheat germplasm; i.e., 16 advanced lines and nine modern varieties. The Se effect was assessed on grain y...

Silicon (Si), a nutrient that currently arousing more and more interest from researchers, particularly in relation to water deficit resistance for durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. Durum). The present study aimed to explore the effectiveness of Si seed priming and foliar application on durum wheat performances. Thus, a seed bioassay was conduc...

Background: Silicon (Si) has been recently considered as an important micronutrient in alleviating the negative impact of abiotic stress, including salt stress, on several crops especially durum wheat. Materials and Methods: This study highlights the effect of Si supply (15 mg L-1) on seed priming on germination characteristics of eight durum wheat...

Background: Durum wheat is a main staple food in the world. Landraces are locally adapted and are important genetic resources in new breeding programs to develop quality attributes of wheat varieties. Therefore, this study aims to compare some physico-chemical properties of improved durum wheat genotypes with those of landraces and to identify trai...

Background: In the literature, little information is available on the effect of drought stress on durum wheat cultivars at the seedling stage and on the best drought-responsive indices. Materials and Methods: Five Tunisian landraces (Biskri, Mahmoudi, Agili, Chili, and Jeneh Khotifa) and three modern varieties (Karim, Nasr, and Rezzak) of durum whe...

In Tunisia, among the most vulnerable country to climate change in the world, durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) production is strongly limited by drought stress. Seed germination and vigor seedling, which can be improved by seed priming, are key phase for a successful crop establishment. A laboratory experiment was performed to study the effect of...

Drought stress is a major problem that limit agricultural production in the world. Silicon (Si), second most abundant element in the soil, is considered as a non-essential element for crop growth. However, recent literature revealed that it had beneficial effects in plants, particularly under unfavorable conditions (salt stress, drought, heavy meta...

In Tunisia, among the most vulnerable country to climate change in the world, durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) production is strongly limited by drought stress. Seed germination and vigor seedling, which can be improved by seed priming, are key phase for a successful crop establishment. A laboratory experiment was performed to study the effect of...

In Mediterranean regions, the performance of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum Desf.) yield often varies due to significant genotype × environment interaction (GEI); therefore, yield stability is an important consideration in breeding programs. The aim of this research was to explore the GEI pattern and yield stability of 24 promising du...

Drought is a limiting factor of durum wheat production. Silicon (Si) is known by its positives effects on plant growth and development under these conditions. Thus, the current study was designed first to i) assess silicon impact on 11 durum wheat varieties performance under osmotic stress using four treatments in hydroponic trial: T1 = no stress,...

Durum wheat is the most widely grown cereal in Tunisia, but its production is threatened by drought, which is exacerbated by climate change. This study aimed to identify drought-tolerant durum wheat genotypes from five modern varieties and six landraces in a multi-environment trial at two sites (Kef and Siliana, Tunisia) during three growing season...

The effect of drought stress on 11 durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) cultivars was determined at the germination stage. Cultivars were screened for drought tolerance. Six levels of osmotic stress (0,-0.47,-1.48,-3.02,-5.11 and-7.73 bars) were assessed by applying different concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG-8000). There were significant di...

In order to establish the optimal level of irrigation and seeding rate to achieve high grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) for durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) in a Tunisian semi-arid region, three durum wheat varieties (Maâli, Nasr and Chili) were evaluated under four levels of irrigation (I3: 70% of field capacity (FC); I2: 40% FC; I1: 1...

Drought stress is the main problem limited durum wheat production in Tunisia. In this order, laboratory experiments of 11 durum wheat varieties were carried to i) evaluate their response at seedling level to water stress induced by different concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) (0, 100, 150, 200 and 400 g/l) and to ii) screen drought to...

Wheat is a staple crop in Tunisia, but little is known about the response of Tunisian durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) and bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to water stress. In semi-arid regions, where cereals are concentrated, grain yield is subject to water deficit especially due to variability in rainfall. Therefore, the objective of...

In this study, five durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp durum) genotypes: Agili, Arbi, Derbassi, Karim and Maali were assessed for 04 agronomical parameters associated with salinity-tolerance. Genotypes were grown under glasshouse conditions and exposed to five salinity levels (control, 3g/l, 6 g/l, 9 g/l et 12 g/l of NaCl) to evaluate their toleran...

Three durum wheat (Nasr, Maâli and Salim), two bread wheat (Tahent and Utique) and two barley varieties (Manel and Kounouz) were assessed in two different semi arid locations under rainfed conditions in 2012-2013 growing season for yield related traits performances, stability and adaptability parameters. For determining adaptability and stability o...

Three durum wheat (Nasr, Maâli and Salim), two bread wheat (Tahent and Utique) and two barley varieties (Manel and Kounouz) were assessed in two different semi arid locations under rainfed conditions in 2012-2013 growing season for yield related traits performances, stability and adaptability parameters. For determining adaptability and stability o...

A field experiment was conducted during 2014/2015 cropping season in Boulifa-Kef in order to investigate the relation between agro-meteorological indices (growing degree days (GDD), photothermal index (PTI) and heat use efficiency (HUE) at heading date) and biological/grain yield for eight durum wheat varieties. Results showed differences in number...

Two experiments (field and pot) were conducted in a semi arid region (Kef/Tunisia) to study the response ofdurum wheatto water regimes based on shoot, root and some agronomic characteristics.Experiments were conducted on two Tunisian durum wheat Maâli (improved variety) and Chili (local variety) and three water regimes i) I2: 70 % of Field Capacity...