Abstract
Durum wheat is the second most important Triticum species next to bread wheat. Ethiopia is one of the centers of diversity for durum wheat. The aim of this study was to assess variability, heritability and genetic advance for some yield and yield-related traits. A total of 97 durum wheat accessions along with 3 improved varieties were evaluated in 10 x 10 simple lattice designs during the 2018 main cropping season at Mata Subsite of Haro Sabu Agricultural Research Center. Twenty parameters were collected and analyzed. Statistically significant (p≤0.01) variation was observed among materials tested for important quantitative and qualitative traits. Genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) ranged from 3.77 to 44.81% for days to maturity and grain yield (tons ha-1), respectively. Broad sense heritability ranged from 72.33 to 99.95% for plant height and number of kernels per spike, respectively. The highest genetic advance as percent of mean recorded for grain yield (88.80%) and the least for moisture (5.22%). Generally, the magnitude of genetic variability among the studied durum wheat accessions showed great variations for desirable traits and thus confident enough to expect genetic progress if further breeding activities are carried out. Key words: Coefficient of variation, durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.), genetic advance, heritability.
Highlights
Durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) is a monocotyledonous plant of the Gramineae family
Significant differences were recorded for parameters like days to heading, days to maturity, grain filling period, plant height, biological yield, grain yield, harvest index, lodging, spike weight, thousand kernel weight, number of kernels per spike, number of spikelets per spike, spike length, leaf rust, stem rust, gluten (%), moisture (%), protein (%), hectoliter weight and Water absorption (%) (Table 2)
The present study revealed that there is comprehensive genetic variability among the studied materials with better agronomic performance that can provide basic information for further breeding activities for improvement and confident enough to expect genetic progress if further breeding activities are carried out
Summary
Durum wheat (Triticum durum L.) is a monocotyledonous plant of the Gramineae family It is the only tetraploid (AABB, 2n=4x=28) species of wheat which has commercially great importance and is a promising and viable alternative crop for farmers (Blanco et al, 1998; Shewry, 2009). Durum wheat is one of the important cereal crops in many countries in the world (Maniee et al., 2009; Kahrizi et al, 2010a, b; Mohammed et al, 2011). It is a tetraploid cereal crop grown in a range of climatic zones varying from warm and dry to cool and wet environments (Giraldo et al, 2016). Its global acreage is estimated at 17 million hectares (ha) and the major growing areas are situated in North America, North, and East Africa and southwest Asia (Maccaferri et al, 2014).
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