Combining Ability Analysis Of Bread Wheat For Grain Iron And Zinc Content Under Rainfed Conditions

Abstract

Iron (Fe) and zinc (Fe) deficiency is a significant global health concern, impacting a staggering two billion individuals across the globe. For the enhancement of grain minerals content, it is essential to evaluate the heterosis, gene action, grain yield potential, and Fe and Zn content in bread wheat using plant breeding techniques to understand the inheritance patterns of the traits under investigation. Therefore, the selection of best parent and offspring combinations relies heavily on the prevailing growing conditions to achieve the highest possible genetic progress. For this study, a group of ten different parents were selected to be crossbred, resulting in 25 F₁ progenies using a line X tester mating design. The F₁ progenies, along with their parents, were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replications at the University Research Farm koont in Rawalpindi during the Rabi season of 2018-2019. The results pertaining to variance component, specifically the effects of general combining ability (GCA) of parents, were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05) for nearly all the traits that were studied. All morphological and quality traits showed significant effects in the progenies' specific combination ability (SCA). The grain yield mean was higher in the Galaxy and Aas11 x 11315 hybrids when compared to the parents. Aas11 and tester11135 showed excellent performance as combiners in terms of the number of grains per spike. Galaxy is an excellent choice when it comes to measuring the weight and quantity of 1000 kernels. If you're looking to shorten the vegetative growth period or control the height of your plants, Dharabi and Galaxy are excellent general combiners to consider. If you're looking to optimize your plant growth and increase grain production per spike, Dharabi x11156 is the perfect choice. For optimal results in achieving a shorter vegetative phase, taller plants, and increased Spikelets per spike, the ideal combination would be Galaxy x 11135. There was a significant amount of heterosis observed in the grain yield, number of fertile tillers, spike length, and days to maturity for the Aas-11 x 11135 combination. On the other hand, there was a negative heterosis observed for 1000-gram weight and days to maturity, while the other traits showed positive heterosis. The data provided low to moderate HB estimates, 2 gca/2 sca, (2 D/2 A) 1/2 low ratios, and the presence of both additive and nonadditive gene effects. It would be wise to delay expanding the plant selection until a later generation, as it is clear that non-additive gene activity is the prevailing factor.