Analysis of Growth and Productivity of Wheat Crops (Triticum aestivum L.) under Various Agroclimatic Conditions

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world's main food commodities that has the potential to be developed in tropical regions, including Indonesia. However, differences in agroclimatic conditions such as temperature, rainfall, and humidity affect its growth and productivity. This study aims to analyze the growth response and yield of wheat in three locations with different agroclimatic characteristics, namely highland (location A), temperate (location B), and lowland (location C). The parameters observed included plant height, number of productive saplings, leaf area index (ILA), and harvested dry grain yield per hectare. The experimental design used a Complete Group Random Design (RAKL) with three replicates at each location. The data was analyzed with ANOVA and continued with the DMRT test at 5%. The results show that the differences in agroclimate have a significant effect on all growth and yield parameters. Location B (medium plain) provides the highest growth and yield, namely the average plant height is 92.4 cm, the number of saplings is 5.7 per clump, and the yield is 5.8 tons/ha. In contrast, location C (lowland) produces less than optimal growth and the lowest yield (3.5 tons/ha) due to overheating and low rainfall. Thus, temperature and rainfall are the main limiting factors in wheat cultivation in the tropics. The selection of planting locations according to the agroclimate is very important to support wheat productivity. These findings provide the scientific basis for the development of location-based tropical wheat.