A Comparison of Forage and Grain Production of Triticale with Wheat and Barley Cultivars Under Dryland Conditions in Jordan

This study was carried out to compare the forage and grain yields of triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) with that of wheat and barley under dryland conditions at two sites during the 2001/2002 growing season in northern Jordan. The first experiment was conducted at Maru agricultural research station to examine forage and grain productivity of two spring triticale cultivars: Beagle and IPA-131 and four wheat cultivars: Hourani-27, ACSAD-65, Sham-1 (durum wheat) and Jubeiha (bread wheat). The second experiment was conducted at Ramtha agricultural research station to compare the same triticale cultivars with two barley cultivars: Rum and ACSAD-176 (six-row), and two barley lines: SLB-6 and Rokho (two-row). A randomised complete block design was used with four replications at Maru and three replications at Ramtha. Total rainfall during the 2001/2002 growing season was 458mm at Maru and 277mm at Ramtha. At the Maru site, the triticale cultivar Beagle outyielded all wheat cultivars in green forage and hay. The highest grain yield was obtained by the Sham-1 cultivar, and was associated with having the greatest number of spikes/m2. The two triticale cultivars gave moderate grain yields. In the second experiment in Ramtha, the triticale cultivar Beagle was superior in green forage, hay, biological and straw yields. But both the Beagle and IPA-131 triticale varieties, however, gave lower grain yield than the barley cultivars. This could be attributed to their fewer spikes/m2 and lower kernel weight. ACSAD-176 produced the highest grain yield and that seems to be associated with higher number of kernels/spike. These results indicate that triticale may be the best choice for forage production within the region, but other cereal crops gave higher grain yields.