Several sand culture and field experiments were conducted to screen out a number of Bangladeshi wheat varieties and advanced lines for boron (B) efficiency against Thai B efficient ('Fang 60') and inefficient ('SW41' and 'E12') varieties. Performances of wheat genotypes were evaluated with respect to flag leaf B concentration, pollen viability, grain set index, and grain yield. Wheat genotypes responded differently to boron deficiency. Pollen viability was found to be 67% in 'Kanchan', 35% in 'Gourab', 80% in 'Sourav', 90% in 'Fang 60', and 25% in 'SW 41'when B was not added. Pollen viability of all varieties was above 90% when B was applied. Based on grain set index and leaf B concentration, 'Sourav' was found to be the moderately B efficient variety. Thus, 'Sourav' can be regarded as a breeding material for development of new wheat varieties for tolerance to B deficiency.

No abstract