Stability of 1000-grain weight and its relation with other traits of barley in dry areas

Summary The effects of 1000-grain weight, its stability and the correlation coefficients with other traits of 50 barley varieties were studied at 18–20 environments. Additional material was used to study genotypic correlations among traits. Significant differences in stability of 1000-grain weight were found among varieties. Two-row varieties were on average more stable than 6-row varieties. The 1000-grain weight was among the most stable and grain yield the most variable traits. This was discussed in connection with stem reserves translocation to the grain. Consistently high yielding varieties had around average stability of 1000-grain weight. Regression coefficient, b, for 1000-grain weight was positively correlated with variance of log transformed data, both valid estimates for stability of 1000-grain weight. The correlation coefficient of 1000-grain weight with grain yield was positive or non-significant, with number of grains per tiller mainly negative and with volume weight it was positive. In 6-row barley, 1000-grain weight was positively correlated with grain yield, straw yield, total biological yield, and plant height, and negatively with number of tillers per m² and number of grains per tiller.     

Levels of phenotypic variation for developmental traits in landrace genotypes of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. Turgidum L. conv. durum (Desf.) MK.) from Jordan

Summary A germplasm collection comprising 132 landrace genotypes of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) ssp. turgidum L. conv. durum (Desf.) MK., from 10 districts in Jordan was evaluated for days to booting (DB), days to heading (DH), days to anthesis (DA), days to maturity (DM), filling period (FP) and grain yield (GY). In spite of the relatively strong genetic (Gr) and phenotypic (Pr) correlation coefficients between the developmental traits, the variation among genotypes was significant. GY was only positively and significantly correlated with DA and FP, while it was negatively correlated with DH. Genotypes with different combinations of early, medium and late developmental traits have been identified. Different combinations of DH and FP may or may not lead to differences in DM and GY. However, genotypes with long FP and medium-late DH gave the highest grain yield. Multiple linear regression of the duration of maturity (M) stage on the duration of booting (B), heading (H) and anthesis (A) stages (M = –260.87 + 2.09 B + 1.23 H + 0.9 A, R ² = 0.92) indicates that it is possible to manipulate the duration of these developmental stages and develop genotypes with high yield potential and early maturity, a highly desirable in drought-prone environments.     

Transmission of somaclonal variation in wheat

Summary Transmission of somaclonal variation was studied in callus derived (SC1) plants of wheat, Triticum aestivum L. Second (SC2), third (SC3) and fourth (SC4) generations were compared with those obtained from embryo culture (E1-E4). SC2 generation had significantly lower grain yield (–37.3%), reduced thousand kernel weight (–7.8%) and shorter height (–2.1%) than that of E2, and included 5.7% seed-sterile and 15.0% partially seed-sterile plants. SC3 generation showed reduced yield (–12.6%), lower thousand kernel weight (–4.9%) and shorter plant height (–1.9%) than E3 generation. SC4 progeny of a short height, partially sterile SC1 variant included aberrant plants: a haploid, few aneuploids, mixoploids, some showing multiploidy, spindle abnormalities, multivalents, bridges and fragments, and tillers having supernumerary spikes with branched rachis. Somaclonal variation resulted from genome instability in callus, and likely involved transposable elements.     

Genetic variation,heritability and path-analysis in landraces of bread wheat from southwestern Iran

Summary Nine pure lines of bread wheat collected from landraces of southwestern Iran and one local Iranian cultivar from the same area were used to estimate genetic variation and heritability for 12 developmental and yield component characters. Path-analysis was used to partition the genetic correlations between some of the characters into direct and indirect effects. Mean values for these lines were also compared with those of five improved cultivars from Iran and California. The goal of the experiment is to breed improved landraces and/or modern cultivars for areas of low input agriculture in southern California, southwestern Iran, and regions with similar environmental and agronomic conditions.Moderate genetic variation was displayed by the number of effective heads per plant, number of grains per head, and grain weight in the landrace genotypes. The heritability estimates ranged from 43 to 97%. Expected genetic advance with selection of the highest 5%, expressed as percent of the mean, was around 20% for number of heads per plant, number of grains per head, and 1000-grain weight.Days to booting, to heading, and to anthesis were positively correlated but none of them were significantly associated with days to maturity. Plant height had a negative genetic correlation with number of grains per head, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, and harvest index. The genetic correlation between number of heads per plant and number of grains per head, 1000-grain weight, and harvest index was also significantly negative. Harvest index had a negative genetic correlation with days to booting, to maturity, plant height, number of heads per plant, and straw yield and a positive correlation with number of grains per head, 1000-grain weight, and grain yield.Days to maturity, plant height, number of heads per plant, number of grains per head, 1000-grain weight, and harvest index each had a positive direct effect on grain yield. The first two characters exhibited the highest and lowest direct effects, respectively. The positive direct effects of days to maturity, plant height, and number of heads per plant, however, were partially or completely counter-balanced by their strong negative indirect effects through number of grains per head, 1000-grain weight, and harvest index. Pathanalysis indicated that late and tall landrace genotypes tend to produce more heads per plant, but with fewer number of grains per head, smaller grains, and lower harvest index.Comparisons between the local lines and the improved cultivars revealed that, in general, the former were much taller and produced a larger number of non-effective tillers. Mean number of grains per head, grain weight, harvest index, and grain yield of local lines were smaller than those of improved cultivars.Our observations indicate that the landraces could be improved by selecting for shorter genotypes with smaller numbers of tillers per plant, but with larger numbers of grains per head and heavier grains.     

Tiller Development and Contribution to Yield under Different Moisture Regimes in two Triticum Species

The number of productive tillers is an important yield component in wheat and is affected by water stress and genetic factors. A greenhouse experiment was conducted during spring 1992 at ICARDA, Tel Hadya, Syria, with eight genotypes representing two Triticum species ( Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum and Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum ) under four soil-moisture regimes (95 %, 75 %, 55 %, and 35 % field capacity) to study the effect of water deficit on tiller development and tiller contribution to grain yield. In the highest watering regime appearance of Tiller 1 was delayed in both species. Also Tiller 2 was suppressed in this treatment in durum , while its appearance was delayed in aestivum. In the driest treatment, a majority of the tillers were suppressed and the ones which emerged were delayed. In durum , the heat units required to produce successive leaves on the tillers were higher than that for the main stem and increased with increasing water stress, causing high rate of tiller abortion. In aestivum , each tiller, once produced, developed leaves at the same rate as on the main stem. Phyllochron of tillers as well as main stem was not affected by water stress in aestivum. In aestivum , contribution by tillers to yield was higher than that of durum in all treatments. Results indicate that early appearance of tillers and faster rate of leaf appearance under water stress result in higher tiller survival and greater tiller contribution to final yield. Hence, tiller dynamics under water stress can be used as a selection criterion for breeding for drought tolerance.     

Agronomic Variability in Selected Triticum turgidum x T. tauschii Synthetic Hexaploid Wheats

Two trials were conducted at the Mexican National Institute of Agricultural Research Experiment Station at Yaqui Valley, Sonora, Mexico to investigate the nature and extent of agronomic variation in 50 synthetic hexaploid (SH) wheats (2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD) derived from Triticum turgidum (2n = 4x = 28. AABB) × T. tauschii (In = 2x = 14, DD) crosses for subsequent use in wheat improvement. Plant height, spike length, days to flowering, physiological maturity, grain yield, above-ground biomass at maturity, harvest index, yield components and test weight were determined.
Significant agronomic variation was observed among the germplasm evaluated. Outstanding SH genotypes were identified with higher grain yield, above-ground biomass at maturity, 1000-grain weight, and spikes m⁻² than the bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) check cultivar Seri 82. Genotypic correlations of grain yield with other character traits show that grain m² was the most important determinant of gram yield (r = 0.993). Data on agronomic traits subjected to complete linkage cluster analysis resulted in classifying the genotypes into two distinct phenotypic groups excluding Seri 82. Groups generally corresponded to durum progenitors of the SH with significant group differences for all characters. This demonstrates use of practical numerical analysis procedures to describe agronomic variation in representative SH genotypes. Clustering by quantitativy traits may be valuable for identification of genotypes with divergent sources for breeding and agronomic purposes.     

Near-isogenic lines of durum wheat: their development and plant characteristics

Summary The effect of specific plant characteristics on the grain and biomass yield of durum wheat can be accurately determined by using isogenic lines, which, however, were not usually available. This study reported the effects of long glume, glaucousness, glume pubescence, black glume and purple culm on the yield and its associated characteristics in near-isogenic lines of durum wheat cv. LD222, which were developed by continuous backcrossing. The long glume trait which resulted in a large photosynthetic area did not enhance yield. Increased glume size associated with the P gene tended to increase the main culm dominance, characterized such as vigorous main culm and weak tillers, and plant height, but to reduce tillering and spike number. Consequently, grain yield and harvest index declined. Under the adequate water supplying condition of the present study, the glaucous trait was beneficial for grain yield. The trait of glume pubescence did not excert any significant effect on the yield related characteristics in the LD222 background. The traits of black glume and purple culm reduced the number of spikes per unit area and the number of kernels per unit area.     

Transgressive segregation in inter and intraspecific crosses of barley

Summary Six populations of F₂-derived lines of barley and their parents were evaluated for heading date, plant height, grain yield, bundle weight, and harvest index in a replicated experiment in the field. These data were used to estimate the minimum number of effective factor pairs segregating for each trait, the number of favorable factors contributed by each parent in a cross, and the frequencies and magnitudes of transgressive segregates.Heading date, plant height, and harvest index were controlled by three to four effective factor pairs, whereas grain yield and bundle weight were controlled by five or more.All three H. spontaneum strains used in our study contributed one or more useful genes for each of the traits, grain yield, heading date, plant height, bundle weight, and harvest index. Therefore, it seems that H. spontaneum can be a useful source of favorable genes for quantitative traits, especially for grain yield, which could be incorporated into barley varieties readily by backcrossing. Transgressive segregates for grain yield in the interspecific crosses may provide the basic materials for improving the productivity of cultivated barley varieties.Journal Paper No. J-9760 of the Iowa Agric. and Home Econ. Exp. Stn., Ames, IA 50011. Project 2227. Supported in part by a grant from the Science and Education Administration-Cooperative Research, United States Department of Agriculture.     

Mapping genes for grain protein concentration and grain yield on chromosome 5B of Triticum turgidum (L.) var. dicoccoides

Grain protein concentration (GPC) is an important quality factor in durum wheat [Triticum turgidum (L.) var. durum]. Due to the strong environmental influence on GPC, molecular markers linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting GPC have the potential to be valuable in wheat breeding programs. Various quantitative traits in a population of 133 recombinant inbred chromosome lines were studied in replicated trials at three locations in North Dakota. Segregation for GPC, 1000-kernel weight, gluten strength, heading date, and plant height was observed. By relating phenotypic data to a linkage map obtained from the same population, three QTL affecting GPC, and one affecting yield were identified. The genotypic coefficients of determination for both traits were high.     

Identification of bread wheat,durum wheat and barley cultivars adapted to dry areas of Southern Italy

Summary Among the cultivars of bread wheat, durum wheat and barley grown in the South of Italy, genetic variation for adaptation to the high temperature and drought stress conditions typical of the Mediterranean environment has been found.The basic data have been extrapolated from 5 years of Italian national network cultivar trials, where 20–30 cultivars were grown in replicated plot trials in 30–50 locations per year, including some where stress strongly affected grain yield.After careful identification of the most representative years and testing sites it was possible to characterise the cultivars on the basis of the grain yield in stress conditions and the Fischer & Maurer (1978) susceptibility index and to find genotypic differences sufficiently repeatable in years.The cultivars giving the best yield under stress associated with low susceptibility indices were in bread wheat: Etruria, Spada, Pandas, Centauro, Oderzo, Costantino and Gladio, in durum wheat: Aldura, Arcangelo, Adamello, Vespro and Capeiti, in barley: Fleuret, Barberousse, Jaidor, Express, Trebbia, Georgie, Dahlia, Criter and Magie.     

Genetic variation and interrelationships of agronomic characters in landraces of bread wheat from southeastern Iran

There is renewed interest in wheat landraces as important sources of genetic variation for agronomic characters. Fifty-three pure lines of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) derived from seven landraces collected from southeastern Iran were used to estimate genetic variation and heritability for 13 developmental and quantitative characters. Path-analysis was used to partition the genetic correlations between grain yield and six grain yield-related traits. Mean values of landraces were also compared with three improved cultivars from California and Iran. Genotypic differences among the landraces and among the pure lines collected from the landraces were highly significant for all characters considered. Compared with the modern cultivars, the landrace genotypes were, on average, later in days to heading and taller than the cultivars but had lower values for number of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, grain yield and harvest index. Some landrace genotypes were similar to the modern cultivars for grain yield. Moderate to high genetic variation was displayed by number of grains per spike, number of spikes per plant, 1000-grain weight, and harvest index. The heritability estimates ranged from 59% for grain yield to 99% for days to anthesis. Expected genetic advance (as % of the mean) was ≈34% for number of spikes per plant, number of grains per spike, and 1000-grain weight. Days to heading and to anthesis correlated positively with number of spikes per plant, shoot biomass, and straw biomass but negatively with number of grains per spike and harvest index. The strong direct effect of number of spikes per plant on grain yield was completely counterbalanced by its indirect negative effects via number of grains per spike and 1000-grain weight. Number of grains per spike and 1000-grain weight were positively correlated with grain yield, and they had large direct effects. These two characters, however, were negatively correlated and exhibited a substantial counterbalance effect via one another and via number of spikes per plant. The landraces could be improved by intercrossing the promising genotypes identified in this study, with simultaneous selection for earliness, fewer number of spikes per plant, greater number of grains per spike and heavier grains. For further improvement, crossing programs between the landraces and introduced germplasm may be necessary. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

小麦收获指数与主要农艺性状的相关性探析?

小麦收获指数是指籽粒产量占地上部生物产量的百分率。研究小麦品种主要农艺性状和经济性状间与其产量的相互关系,采用相关性分析与回归方法,对影响收获指数的10个主要农艺性状及因素进行了研究分析。结果表明：供试小麦HI具有较大的改良空间;HI与穗颈长、株高、穗长、小穗数、主茎生物产量有显著负相关,与单穗质量、产量呈正相关,与生物产量没有显著相关性;主成分分析结果显示,3个主成分累积贡献率达 87.427%,表明 3 个主成分已覆盖所有性状的主要信息;通过回归分析,小麦HI与单穗籽粒产量、生物产量、千粒质量有显著回归关系。结论: 通过对10份小麦材料农艺性状的统计分析,得出如下结论。HI受单穗质量、生物产量、千粒重影响较为明显有显著回归关系,与单穗质量、产量和穗粒数有明显正效应,生物产量对其有负效应。小麦HI提高可通过选育生物产量不宜过大,而穗粒数较高、单穗重较大的小麦品种。     

Increased grain protein content and its association with agronomic and end-use quality in two hard red spring wheat populations derived from Triticum turgidum L. var. dicoccoides

Suitability of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for many food products depends on its unique protein. Elevated grain protein content (GPC) and its quality influences the bread making properties of wheat. The objective of this study was to examine the association of elevated GPC with agronomic and end-use quality in two hard red spring wheat recombinant inbred (RI) populations derived from wild emmer (Triticum turgidum L. var. dicoccoides). The two hard red spring populations (ND683/Bergen and Glupro/Bergen) were developed using a single-seed-descent method. ND683 and ‘Glupro’ are high in GPC (180 g kg^-1), presumably due to the introgression of gene(s) from Triticum turgidum L. var. dicoccoides and ‘Bergen’ is low in GPC (145 g kg^-1). From each of the two populations 12 high- and 12 low-GPC RI lines (F_5:7) were selected for replicated testing at two North Dakota (ND) locations in 1995. In both populations, the high-GPC lines had significantly (p < 0.05) higher values compared to the low-GPC lines for mean GPC and water absorption. Mean grain yield of the high-GPC lines was not significantly different from the low-GPC lines in both populations. In the ND683/Bergen population, the high-GPC lines had significantly (p < 0.05) higher values than the low-GPC lines for mean plant height, days to heading, and flour extraction. GPC was significantly (p < 0.05)and negatively associated with test weight and also significantly (p < 0.01) and positively associated with water absorption in the Glupro/Bergen population. In these populations, results suggested that it may be possible to select lines that combine higher GPC and acceptable yield level, but later in maturity and taller in plant height. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Performance of Selected Strains of 'Farro' (Triticum monococcum L., Triticum dicoccum Schübler, Triticum Spelta L.) and Durum Wheat (Triticum Durum Desf. cv. Trinakria) in the Difficult Flat Environment of Southern Italy

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of three species of unhulled-wheat (Triticum monococcum L., Triticum dicoccum Schubler and Triticum spelta L.) with respect to durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf. cv. Trinakria) in southern Italy's flat environment.
As far as yield is concerned, the mean yield was significantly different among species. Durum wheat yielded 16.1 %, 37.6% and 69.5 % more than dicoccum, spelta and monococcum species, respectively.
Among unhulled-wheat species, only Triticum dicoccum showed some similarity with durum wheat, such as one-thousand kernels weight, plant height and number of spikes per m².
Among the factors studied, the days to reach heading represented the factor that mostly influenced yield     

Single and Multiple Traits Selection in a Segregating Population of Wheat, Triticum aestivum L.

The breeding materials used in this study were the F₃, F₄ and F₅-generations of the cross between Giza 158 × Sonora 64 (Triticum aestivum L.). The objective of this study was to compare the relative merits of Smith-Hazel, desired gain selection indices, independent culling levels and single trait selection in improving grain yield, heading date and several agronomic traits. Highly significant differences among F₃ families and a satisfactory genotypic coefficient of variability were obtained for all the traits studied. The genotypic correlations were high between yield and each of spike weight, kernels/spike and spikes; plant, intermediate with 1000 kernel weight and very low with heading date, plant height and spike1 length-After two cycles of selection, the results of the gains realized indicated that the most effective method for improving yield was the Smith-Hazel index (SH₇) of seven traits followed by the desired gain index of seven traits (DG₇), SH₅, independent culling levels, DG₅ and direct selection (or grain yield/plant. Direct selection for heading date, plant height and spike length was the best method for improving these traits, but undesirable correlated responses in the other traits were obtained.     

Analysis of Wheat Cultivar Differences in Grain Yield, Grain Nitrogen Yield and Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency.

More detailed information on the causes of yield variability among wheat cultivars is needed to further increase wheat yield. Field studies were conducted in Northern Greece over the two cropping seasons of 1985—1986 and 1986—1987 to assess the effects of nitrogen fertilizer and application timing of the various component traits that determine grain yield, grain nitrogen yield and nitrogen utilization efficiency of two bread ( Triticum aestivum L.) and two durum ( Triticum durum Desf.) wheat cultivars, using yield and yield component analysis. Nitrogen at a rate of 150 kg ha^-1 was applied before planting or 100 N kg ha^-1 before planting and then 50 N kg ha^-1 top dressed at early boot stage. Nitrogen and cultivars affected all traits examined, while split nitrogen application affected only some of the traits. Grain yields in the most cases were correlated with number of grains per unit area and grain weight and grain nitrogen yields in all cases with grain number per unit area. The contribution of the number of grains per spike to total variation in grain yield among cultivars was almost consistent (37 to 55 %), while the contribution of grain weight was more significant (up to 55 %) in high yields (>6.500kg ha^-1) and number of spikes per unit area (>500). The number of grains per spike contributed from 60 to 83 % to the total variation in grain nitrogen per spike. Increased grain nitrogen concentration resulted in a reduction of its contribution in grain nitrogen yield variation. Nitrogen utilization efficiency was higher during grain filling than during vegetative biomass accumulation. The contribution of nitrogen harvest index to the variation of utilization efficiency for grain yield was higher in plants receiving nitrogen application.     

冬小麦种质材料主要农艺性状研究

小麦种质资源是小麦育种的重要基础,小麦遗传多样性评价不仅有助于种质资源的搜集、管理和利用,也有利于核心种质的研究。为了合理利用小麦种质资源,降低组配小麦杂交组合的盲目性,选取73份国内外种质材料,在旱地条件种植,以株高、穗粒数、千粒重、有效穗数和产量为指标对其进行了聚类分析。结果表明,在雨养条件下各性状的变异系数大小为：产量>有效穗数>穗粒数>千粒重>株高;产量构成因素与产量的相关程度为：有效穗数>穗粒数>千粒重;供试材料可以分为六类,并对各类种质材料的特点及在育种中的应用作了评述。试验中综合表现较好的4个亲本材料为第Ⅵ组的18th FAWWON-IR-023、18th FAWWON-IR-111、18th FAWWON-IR-027和18th FAWWON-IR-169,可为选育抗旱优质丰产小麦新品种提供优异基因。     

河南省南部组小麦品种主要农艺性状的演变

利用近二十年河南省南部组区域试验数据,对新育成品种的主要农艺性状演变规律进行了分析,结果表明：随着品种育成年份的延后,抽穗期和成熟期呈提前趋势;株高呈降低趋势;全生育期天数和每亩有效穗数呈减少趋势;灌浆时间、穗粒数、千粒重和亩产量呈增加趋势。相关性分析表明,产量与千粒重、穗粒数呈显著正相关,与成熟期呈极显著负相关,说明产量的提高主要是与穗粒数和千粒重增加有关。     

Stability analysis over seasons and locations of multilines of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Summary Three multilines each of Kalyansona and PV 18 varieties of wheat were compared for their stability of yield and agronomic characters and disease resistance against the respective recurrent parents. The experiments were conducted for four years at nine locations.The multilines had more tillers and bolder seeds than the recurrent parents. There were, however, no differences for plant height, ear length and number of spikelets per spike.The genotypes x years x locations interaction was much more important than genotypes x years or genotypes x locations interaction as well as the main effects for genotypes. It is suggested that the number of test locations should be increased while decreasing the number of years.The stability parameters indicated that the multilines had a higher mean yield in the case of Kalyansona multilines whereas the yield of multilines of PV 18 was not significantly inferior to that of the recurrent parent. The regression coefficients were very close to unity except for KSML 3 (b=1.132). The deviations from regression were much larger for the multilines than for the recurrent parents.For rust resistance the multilines were superior over the varieties Kalyansona and PV 18.This is publication No. 9 of the series Studies on multilines in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)     

Combining frost tolerance,high grain yield and good pasta quality in durum wheat

Growing in Central Europe winter instead of spring durum wheat would substantially increase yield potential but is currently hampered by the lack of knowledge of frost tolerance present in elite material. The objectives of our survey were to (i) study the genetic variability and heritability of frost tolerance and its association with other important agronomic and quality traits in durum wheat, (ii) examine the potential to combine frost tolerance with high quality and high grain yield and (iii) investigate the consequences of the heritabilities and associations among traits on the optimum design of a multistage selection programme for winter durum wheat. We investigated 101 elite winter durum wheat lines and four commercial checks in field trials at four locations. Four agronomic as well as nine quality traits were recorded. In addition, frost tolerance was evaluated using a semi‐controlled test resulting in high‐quality phenotypic data. Genotypic variances (σ²_G) were significantly larger than zero for all traits, and heritabilities were moderate to high. Several elite durum wheat lines exhibited a frost tolerance comparable to that of two frost‐tolerant Triticum aestivum varieties. Frost tolerance was not negatively associated with other important agronomic and quality traits. The high quality of the phenotypic data for frost tolerance evaluated in a semi‐controlled test suggests that this is a cost‐efficient approach to consider frost tolerance at early stages of a multistage durum wheat breeding programme.