Thirteen wheat, sixteen triticale and one rye cultivars were studied in a first experiment and twenty wheat cultivars were studied in a second experiment, for iron tolerance in nutrient solution. The treatments consisted of five different iron levels, 0.56; 5.0; 10.0; 20.0 and 40.0 mg/liter, under constant temperature, 25 ±1°C, pH 4.0, and continuous aeration. Iron tolerance was evaluated by considering the mean root length, for each cultivar, after a period of twelve days growing in nutrient solution with different iron levels. The wheat cultivars IAC-212, IAC-215 (Experiment 1) and IAC-29, IAC-74, IAC-203, IAC-207 and IAC-211 (Experiment 2) were as tolerant as the cultivars Siete Cerros used as a control and may be considered genetic sources of high value for breeding programs at Instituto Agronômico, São Paulo, Brasil. The triticale cultivars PFT 7719, PFT 7882, TCEP 7889 and Juanillo-159 were more tolerant than the cultivars PFT 766 and TCEP 77138. The rye cultivars Branco exhibited moderate tolerance to iron toxicity. The most sensitive cultivars were IAC-161, IAC-162, Anahuac, IAC-213, IAC-214, IAC-217 and IAC-219 (Experiment 1) and IAC-205 and IAC-60 (Experiment 2), considered as sensitive as the control (cultivars BH-1146). The wheat cultivars IAC-74 and the triticale cultivars PFT 7719, PFT 7882 and TCEP 7889, showing tolerance to aluminum and iron toxicities are adequate germplasms for cultivation on acid soils.
wheat; triticale; rye; cultivars; root length; iron toxicity; screening; aluminum tolerance