Estimation of heritability and genetic advance for grain yield and its components in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under genotype by environmental interaction

Nikolay Tsenov, Todor Gubatov, Ivan Yanchev, Atanas Sevov

Abstract: The study was organized in order to determine the influence of environments and the real possible genetic progress after selection of traits, directly related to grain yield in wheat. A multifactor field experiment was organized which included forty samples of winter common wheat grown during the period 2017-2019 in three test locations of Bulgaria. The data collected were used to track changes in the components of productivity, their correlations and the genetic progress that could be made in each of them by selection. The variation within 10-20% of each of the traits is mainly due to the interaction of the genotype by location. As a result, the characters change extremely inadequately to the change of conditions, which is proved by applying a principle component analysis. The established inheritance coefficients, correlations between traits and their genetic progress show that by applying a differential approach by selection on specific traits, grain yield could be increased up to 20% compared to its current level. The results are an occasion to think about a new breeding strategy in terms of creating a new “ecotype” variety, in which genetic progress in grain yield will be guaranteed.

Keywords: correlations; grain productivity; heritability, genetic advances; wheat

Date published: 2022-06-15