Assessment of G × E interaction and heritability for simplification of selection in spring wheat genotypes

Abstract

While evaluating genotypes for yield in multi-environment tests, the variation can only be observed in the relative yield performance of genotypes across environments. Eighteen (18) wheat genotypes, along with two standard farmer check varieties, were tested under normal and late sowing conditions for yield comparison, heritability, and selection response to understand the causes of G × E interaction and identification of specific desirable traits and genotypes. Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences (P < 0.01) for spikes m-2, seed yield, and harvest index, while significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed for spikelets spike-1 and grains spike-1. The environmental component revealed highly significant differences (P < 0.01) for all traits except for grain weight spike-1, which exhibited significant differences (P < 0.05). However, the G × E interaction showed highly significant differences (P < 0.01) only for harvest index. The better accessions may further be tested for performance under late sowing conditions. The accessions also have potential for utilization in breeding programs for accumulating the genes of interest in genotypes which otherwise failed to perform better in late sowing environments. The selected accessions can be extremely useful for breeding cultivars to fill the gap between cultivars under conditions of very early or very late sowing.