Phenotypic variability and heritability of plant height in wheat, Triticum aestivum L.

Abstract

Variability, heritability and components of variance have been studied in 50 cultivars from different selection centers all over the world. The experiment was performed in randomized block design in three replications on the experimental field during two seasons. A total number of 60 plants have been analyzed in the full maturity stage. The analyzed cultivars displayed very significant differences in the average value of plant height. The average variability of plant height was V=7.4%. The lowest variability of plant height was found in the Fundulea cultivar (V=5.2%), and the highest in Norin 10 (V=9.8%) cultivar. The obtained heritability value in broad sense was very high for plant height (h2=95.9%). Phenotypic analysis of variance indicated that there was a larger influence of genetic factors for plant height (84.32%) than influence of environmental factors on expressing of analyzed yield components.