Little is known about the diversity of wheat (Triticum spp.) in Oman. Results of a survey conducted in two remote mountain oases of northern Oman indicate that there exists considerable morphological variation within and among the five traditional landraces of wheat cultivated. Within two of the landraces grown on irrigated terraces, sized between 2 and 100 m2, two new botanical wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum var. baladseetense and var. maqtaense) were identified of which the agronomic properties, in particular tolerance to drought and heat, and the nutritional value require further investigation.

drought resistance, genetic diversity, geographicaldistribution, heat tolerance, irrigation, landraces, morphology,phenotypic variation, plant genetic resources, surveys, varieties,wheat, Oman, Triticum, Triticum aestivum, Poaceae, Cyperales,monocotyledons, angiosperms, Spermatophyta, plants, eukaryotes,Triticum, West Asia, Asia, Middle East, Developing Countries, droughttolerance, Muscat and Oman, phenotypic variability, watering, FieldCrops (FF005) (New March 2000), Plant Breeding and Genetics (FF020),Environmental Tolerance of Plants (FF900), Soil Water Management(Irrigation and Drainage) (JJ800) (Revised June 2002) [formerly SoilWater Management], Biological Resources (Plant) (PP720)

• Journal Article

• Drought