|
(c) Ae. cylindrica was found in the Tehran region
which is supposed to be the eastern limit of its
distribution.
(d) Ae. triuncialis included 2 subspecies, ssp.
eu-triuncialis and ssp. orientalis. Ssp.
eu-triuncialis was found in all parts of Iran, except
for the coastal area of the Caspian Sea; it was also found
in the Pul-i-Khumri region of Afghanistan. However, ssp.
orientalis was found only in the Maimana region.
(e) Ae. columnaris was found in the Tabriz and Tehran
regions. This is a new discovery for its geographical
distribution.
2) Morphological characters: The morphological characters
such as plant height, tillering habit (procumbent or erect),
waxiness (waxy or non-waxy) of leaves, colour of seedlings,
color of ears, hairiness (pubescent or glabrous) of glumes,
and awnedness of glumes, etc. were studied. Wide variations
were found especially in Ae. squarrosa and Ae.
triuncialis. For instance, tall plants with erect culms
and large grains were found in Ae. squarrosa strains
collected from wheat fields, while variations were slight in
Ae. cylindrica.
Ae. crassa with awnless ear was found in the
south-eastern province of Afghanistan. This will be a new
variety.
3) Physiological characters: Earliness, seed-fertility,
winter or spring habit, and also resistance to rusts. Some
strains of Ae. squarrosa collected in the south
eastern provinces of Afghanistan had spring habit, while all
other Ae. squarrosa strains exhibited winter
habit.
Some strains of var. meyeri and strangulata of
Ae. squarrosa have been found to be resistant to
certain rust strains.
4) Hybrids of inter- and intraregional cross-combinations
were raised among Ae. squarrosa strains. Fertility of
those F1 hybrids was normal in most cases, but it
was low in some combinations. The sterility of the
intra-species hybrids seemed to depend mainly on genotype
difference between parents (due to a complementary gene
system for hybrid sterility) and partly on environmental
conditions.
5) Based on cytological studies, a reciprocal translocation
was ascertained in one strain of Ae. squarrosa and
two strains of Ae. columnaris found in Iran.
|