Abstract:
The objective was to determine the relationship between leaf area index (LAI) and wheat grain
yield with durum cultivar CIRNO C2008, in thirty fields in the Yaqui (YV) and Mayo Valleys
(MV), Sonora, Mexico, during the season 2020-2021. Field surveys were carried out to monitor
crop development and to take LAI readings at different phenological stages using a linear
ceptometer. Four samples of 1 m-2 in each field were harvested to calculate yield and count the
spikes produced; also, grain protein and incidence of yellow berry were determined.
Temperature, relative humidity, and cold units were recorded in an hourly format from 16
stations from the automated weather station network in Sonora, and which were closest to the
fields. The LAI increased as the crop progressed, and had its highest expression (7.768) during
the half grain-filling stage in YV, and at the end of flowering (8.109) in MV; the regression
between grain yield and LAI had an R2 of 0.324. The avg. grain yield in YV was 7.95 t ha-1,
while 7.24 in MV, but the latter had one less irrigation. The avg. spike number m-2 was 400 in
YV and 370 in MV. The avg. grain protein content in YV was 10.49% and 39.6% for yellow
berry, while in MV 11.26% and 13.8%, respectively. The overall avg. temperature during the
season, relative humidity and the accumulated cold units for YV and MV were 16.96 and 16.97
°C, 68.31 and 69.13%, and 817 and 867, respectively.
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