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Genetic dissection of grain yield traits in a large collection of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germplasm

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Abstract

Understanding genetic architecture of a crop germplasm is necessary for designing a successful breeding program. Herein, we evaluated a large collection of 500 spring wheat accessions for 2 crop seasons to dissect the genetics of 11 yield components and their direct and indirect contributions to grain yield (GY). The genetic estimates of broad sense heritability (h2), genetic advance (GA), phenotypic correlation (rp), genotypic correlation (rg), and path coefficient analysis were performed. Significant genetic variation was observed for all yield traits suggesting that GY can be improved by exploiting the studied yield traits. Phenotypic coefficient of variation (Vp) was greater than genotypic coefficient of variation (Vg) for all studied traits. Higher broad sense h2 and GA were observed for grains per plant (GpP), spikes per plant (SpP), spikelets per spike (Spt/S) and grain yield (GY). The GY exhibited significant and positive correlation with all studied traits except with spikelet density (SptD). The GpP and TGW exhibited positive direct effect on increasing grain yield. Taking together, SpP, GpS, TGW and SDW are the major contributors to improving genetic yield potential of bread wheat with spring growth habit. The negative correlation between GY and SptD was dissected in path coefficient analysis as negative indirect effect of SptD on GY through reduced GpS and TGW. Our study provides new insights on the association of GpP, TGW and SDW in bread wheat. The GpP, TGW and SDW are influenced by SpP, Gpt/S, G/Spt, SptD, AL and PH with indirect effects on GY. To improve yield potential in wheat, the traits with direct effects (GpP, TGW and SDW) and indirect effects (e.g., SptD) can be used as selection criteria.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge University of Agriculture Faisalabad and Higher Education Commission of Pakistan for supporting this research work.

Funding

This research was funded by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan under the scheme of 5000-Indigenous Scholarships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan

    Sultan Habibullah Khan, Muhammad Sajjad & Munawar Shahzad

  2. Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Sajjad

  3. Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Saima Gulnaz

  4. National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) Islamabad, Wheat Program, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Sundas Waqar

  5. Nuclear Institute of Agriculture, NIA Tando Jam, Hyderabad, Pakistan

    Saima Mir Arain

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  1. Sultan Habibullah Khan
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  2. Muhammad Sajjad
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  3. Saima Gulnaz
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  4. Sundas Waqar
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  5. Munawar Shahzad
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Contributions

SHK: guided and supervised the research and prepared the draft of the manuscript. SG: participated in data recording. SW: revised and improved the part of manuscript. MS: statistical analysis. SMA: guided the research and reviewed the data analysis. MS: carried out experiments, recorded data and improved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Muhammad Sajjad.

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Khan, S.H., Sajjad, M., Gulnaz, S. et al. Genetic dissection of grain yield traits in a large collection of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germplasm. J. Crop Sci. Biotechnol. 25, 215–223 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12892-021-00124-2

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