Performance of Some Egyptian Bread Wheat Cultivars under Saline Soil Conditions at North Delta of Egypt.

Salinity poses a significant threat to crop growth and yield, including wheat. This study, conducted at El Hamarawey farm at Sakha Agriculture Research Station in Egypt during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 wheat growing seasons, aimed to assess ten Egyptian bread wheat cultivars (Misr 1, Sakha 93, Sakha 95, Giza 168, Giza 171, Gemmaiza 9, Gemmaiza 11, Sids 13, Sids 14, Shandawil 1) in both normal and saline soils. Employing a randomized complete block design with four replicates, the study examined various traits including heading date, maturity, plant height, flag leaf area, yield and its components, chlorophyll, and proline. Under saline soil conditions, a significant decrease in most traits was observed, with notable variations among wheat cultivars. Sakha 95 excelled in plant height, flag leaf area, grain yield, and chlorophyll a, b, and a + b, while Sakha 95 and Sids 14 demonstrated superior performance in 1000-grain weight, and Shandaweel 1 exhibited superiority in the number of grains/spike and proline content. A positive and highly significant correlation was found between grain yield and the number of spikes/m2, number of grains/spike, and chlorophyll a and a + b, with significant correlations with the number of days to heading and maturity, 1000-grain weight, and chlorophyll b. Gemmiza 9, Shandawel 1, Gemmeiza 11, Misr 1, and Sakha 93 emerged as highly salt-tolerant genotypes under investigation.