Results of the first Elite Selection Wheat Yield Trials: (ESWYT) 1979-80

Abstract

The first Elite Selection Wheat Yield Trial (ESWYT) was sent in 1979-80, to be grown by cooperators in their spring season of 1980. Thirty nurseries went to cooperators in 21 countries. The 30 advanced lines and varieties included in the nursery had been chosen from among CIMMYT's best materials. All had been grown and observed under a high yield environment with pressure from major diseases on the CIANO Experiment Station in the Yaqui Valley in northwest Mexico. The selected lines thus comprised a collection of the world's best lines or varieties, which cooperators cou.ld compare under the specific conditions of their own sites. Seed for this international nursery was multiplied in plots on the· CIANO Experiment Station, and the seed was cleaned and treated with insecticide and organic fungicide before shipment. Instructions accompanied the mailing of seed to each cooperator; the plot sizes, replications and similar procedures were specified. It is recommended that each plot should consist of six 3.0 m rows planted 30 cm apart and that each line should be grown in three replications. However, plot configuration may differ to conform to local equipment. A field book accompanied each nursery set, providing a format for recording data desired by CIMMYT. Sixteen of the cooperators receiving the 1st. ESWYT returned field books reporting performance at their location in time to be included in this report. In receiving and processing the data, CIMMYT assumes that instructions were carried out and that accurate results were reported. We cannot, however, attest to the rigor with which the trials were grown and results were obtained. The choice of variables measured and the data returned rests with the individual cooperator. We have included in the summary table all measures of all variables reported to us. Some variables are presented for which a limited number of observations were made. The user of these tables should be aware of the importance of the number of locations and the number of observations in interpreting data on a given variable; the summary table for international results specifies both for the guidance of the reader.