Straw production, carbon and ash content variations after ten cycles of recurrent selection in bread wheat grown under tilled and non-tilled soils

The objective of this work was to determine the change for straw production, carbon and ash content in vegetative tissues through ten cycles of recurrent selection in bread wheat, evaluated under tilled (CT) and non-tilled (NT) soils. Twenty-four wheat genotypes, four for each one of the 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cycles of recurrent selection (RS), were used in this study. Experiments were established during two successive seasons. Ash content was expressed on dry mass basis. To estimate the carbon content, we based our calculation on the assumption that organic matter is 50% carbon. Straw dry weight was measured. For each trait, a linear mixed model (regression) was fitted to the experimental data. In response to the number of selection cycles, the ash content percentage increased under CT and decreased under NT. Carbon content decreases under CT, but increases under NT. The sequestered straw carbon and the straw production significantly decrease under CT meanwhile there was no change under NT. The observed increase for straw ash content would be related to the highest rate of transpiration in the more advanced recurrent selection cycles. Consistent with these results, the percentage of straw carbon content decreased because of the mobilization of reserves from the stems and leaves to the grains