The effect of soil and weather conditions on yields of winter wheat in multi-environmental trials

Drought reduces crop yields not only in areas of arid climate. The impact of droughts depends on the crop growth stage and soil properties. The frequency of droughts will increase due to climate change. It is important to determine the environmental variables that have the strongest effect on wheat yields in dry years. The effect of soil and weather on wheat yield was evaluated in 2018, which was considered a very dry year in Europe. The winter wheat yield data from 19 trial locations of the Research Center of Cultivar Testing (COBORU), Poland, were used. Soil data from the trial locations, mean air temperature (T) and precipitation (P) were considered as environmental factors, as well as the climatic water balance (CWB). The hydrothermal coefficient (HTC), which is based on P and T, was also used. The effect of these factors on winter wheat yield was related to the weather conditions at particular growth stages. The soil had a greater effect than the weather conditions. CWB, P, T and HTC showed a clear relationship with winter wheat yield. Soil data and HTC are the factors most recommended for models predicting crop yields. In the selection of drought-tolerant genotypes, the plants should be subjected to stress especially during the heading and grain filling growth stages.