Genetic distance of common winter wheat varieties

Abstract

The study was conducted during the period 2017-2019 in the experimental field of IPGR Sadovo. Wheat is the most important agricultural crop worldwide. Bulgarian wheat production in 2019 amounts to 6.162 thousand tons - an increase of 5.7% compared to 2018, due to the relatively favorable climatic conditions in the process of crop development, which led to an increase in average yield (with 6.8%). Twenty nine common winter wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum L.) with Belorusian origin and two Bulgarian varieties - Sadovo 1 and Enola were evaluated. The studied materials were sown in 2 rows with the length - 2 m, at the row spacing - 20 cm and the distance in rows - 5 cm. The standard technology adopted in IPGR for cultivation of common winter wheat was used. The aim of this study is to investigate the genetic distance of common winter wheat genotypes with a view to their use in the breeding process as sources of initial material for the formation of new and highly productive wheat varieties. Biometric measurements were made on 20 plants of each genotype and the main productivity indicators were recorded. To evaluate the genetic similarity between the different varieties, cluster analysis and PC analysis were applied. Based on the cluster analysis, the studied genotypes are classified into five large cluster groups. With the most genetic closeness to each other are characterized the varieties Vasilisa and Uzlet, followed by Daria and Rostan. The greatest genetic distance is shown between the Bulgarian varieties Sadovo 1 and Enola to the varieties from Belarus. The greatest genetic difference was found between Sadovo 1 and Rassvet, followed by Enola and Rassvet. Genetically distant varieties belonging to different cluster groups can be used as sources of initial material to achieve genetic diversity in the breeding of common winter wheat.