Eighteen wheat lines introduced from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico, and eighteen wheat lines selected at the Instituto Agronômico (IAC) from the wheat breeding program, plus the cultivars IAC-24 and IAC-289 were evaluated in relation to the tolerance to aluminum toxicity, in two experiments, using nutrient solutions with six different aluminum concentrations, in laboratory conditions. The cultivars BH-1146 (tolerant) and Anahuac (sensitive) were also used as tolerance controls. The same genotypes, except BH-1146 and Anahuac, were also evaluated in two trials carried out under sprinkler irrigation, at the Tatuí Agronomic Experimental Station, in 1999. Grain yield, plant height and the number of grain per spikelet (head fertility) were evaluated under field conditions. The IAC selected lines were superior for aluminum tolerance in relation to the CIMMYT lines, demonstrating the importance of genotype origin when the objective is to grow in acid soil. The Mexican and the IAC selected lines showing tolerance to 10 mg.L-1 of Al3+ could be used as aluminum tolerance source, particularly the lines 11 (PVN"S"/3/ BB/CNO"S"//JAR/4/ORZ/5/IAC-60) and 5 (RAC 649/IAC-120), selected at IAC, which showed not only aluminum tolerance but also short stature and high head fertility, respectively.
breeding lines; cultivars; genetic sources; aluminum tolerance; agronomic characteristics
