A collection of 368 advanced lines and cultivars of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from Chile, Uruguay, and CIMMYT (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo), with good agronomic characteristics were evaluated under the Mediterranean conditions of central Chile. Three different water regimes were assayed: severe water stress (SWS, rain fed), mild water stress (MWS; one irrigation around booting), and full irrigation (FI; four irrigations: at tillering, flag leaf appearance, heading, and middle grain filling). Traits evaluated were grain yield (GY), agronomical yield components, days from sowing to heading, carbon isotope discrimination (D 13 C) in kernels, and canopy spectral reflectance. Correlation analyses were performed for 70 spectral reflectance indices (SRI) and the other traits evaluated in the three trials. GY and D
13C were the traits best correlated with SRI, particularly when these indices were measured during grain filling. However, only GY could be predicted using a single regression, with NIR-based SRI proved to be better predictors than those that combine visible and NIR wavelengths.Keywords: Breeding; drought; dry matter index; normalized difference moisture index; vegetative index; water index Citation: Lobos GA, Matus I, Rodriguez A, Romero-Bravo S, Araus JL, del Pozo A (2014) Wheat genotypic variability in grain yield and carbon isotope discrimination under Mediterranean conditions assessed by spectral reflectance.