ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONGST WINTER × SPRING WHEAT AND TRITICALE × WHEAT DERIVED WHEAT DOUBLED HAPLOIDS USING MOLECULAR AND MORPHO PHYSIOLOGICAL MARKERS

Abstract

newline ABSTRACT newline The present investigation was undertaken to assess the variability amongst wheat doubled haploids using various morpho-physiological traits and SSR markers, infer genetic relationship between the pedigree of the doubled haploids together with the potential bread wheat varieties and to identify the doubled haploids of bread wheat with targeted traits like yield, resistance to biotic (yellow rust and powdery mildew) and abiotic (drought) stresses. The experimental material comprised of 196 genotypes along with two checks viz., Him Palam Gehun-1(HPW-360) and Him Palam Gehun-2 (HPW-368) were evaluated for different morpho-physiological traits in Simple Lattice Design of 14x14 with two replications during rabi 2014-15. Sufficient genetic variability was observed for seed yield and its component traits suggesting the scope of selection for these traits. High PCV and GCV along with high heritability and high genetic advance were observed for seed yield per plant and harvest index indicating selection would be effective for these traits. Seed yield per plant showed significant and positive correlation with plant height, tillers per plant, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, biological yield and harvest index. Also, biological yield per plant and harvest index were observed as best selection index for increasing seed yield per plant. Principal component analysis revealed 65.33 per cent variation which was elaborated by the first four significant principal components.D2 statistical analysis grouped genotypes into six clusters whereas molecular analysis delineated them into three clusters thereby revealing that the population structure was mainly based on genetic origin along with moderate to high gene flow. On the basis of mean performance, four genotypes viz., TWDH-6, HPW-236, HPW-147 and HS490 were found superior for seed yield and DH-47, DH-52, DH-85 and DH-87 expressed very strong resistance against yellow rust and powdery mildew diseases, whereas DH-40 and DH-100 appear to be promising for droug