3. Evaluation of heterosis and its association among morpho-physiological traits of ten wheat genotypes under water stress

Abstract

Wheat is a staple food grain ranked that first as consumed globally and occupies a central position in the cereal trade. Grain yield is a polygenic inherited trait and is the product of several attributes which contribute to it direct or indirectly. Wheat production is affected by various calamities, among them; water stress is a destructive factor to the seed yield of wheat. In present study, we investigated the performance of F₁ wheat hybrids for heterosis and the relation between morpho-physiological characters under water stress at field conditions. Split plot design was used consisted of two factors; genotypes and water stress with three replications. Ten F₁ wheat hybrids generated using half-diallel crossing and were evaluated under water stress treatments viz., normal watering (T₀), extreme water stress from tillering to maturity (T₁), and post-flowering water stress from anthesis to maturity (T₂). The obtained results revealed that the F₁ wheat hybrids Sarsabz x Kiran-95 (V7), TD-1 x NIA-Sarang (V8) and NIA-Sarang x Kiran-95 (V10) were found potential wheat hybrids for seed yield under both water stress and normal watering which could be included in the future wheat breeding scheme. Hybrid performance during the wheat breeding scheme can be improved by analyzing genetic potential among wheat genotypes, determining the association between traits and selection with greater genetic diversity and heterosis for water stress tolerance and identification of traits most influenced grain yield. Overall these newly evolved hybrids should be recommended for cultivation under normal field conditions.

Keywords: Correlation; F₁ hybrid; Heterosis; Morpho-physiological traits; Triticum aestivum L; Water stress

http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2022.110072