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Wheat Information
Service
Number 72: 35-41 (1991)
Stability
parameters of grain yield and its components in durum
wheat*
Anil Kumar and R. K. Chowdhury
Department of Plant Breeding, Haryana Agricultural University,
Hisar-125004, India
Summary
Stability parameters of 40 varieties of durum wheat (Triticum
durum Desf.) alongwith 5 commercial bread wheat varieties were
studied. Highly significant genotypic differences were obtained for
all the characters studied (plant height, tillers per plant,
biological yield, grain yield, harvest index, grains per spike,
spikelets per spike and 1000-grain weight). The linear component of G
x E
interaction was significant for plant height, tiller number,
biological yield, grain yield and harvest index. Variety WH 822
appeared to have high mean, unit regression and non-significant
non-linear component for all the traits, except plant height. Variety
HI 8078 was good for four and WH 823, CPAN 1478 and Sapi's for three
characters. These varieties were also better/average for other
traits. The blends did not give any trend in terms of their stability
parameters compared to their base varieties. Different mechanisms
were operative in different varieties as regards the contribution of
yield components to the stability of grain yield.
Introduction
Durum wheat represents the second major species of the genus
Triticum being grown in the world. India is one of the largest
durum wheat producing countries and has largest area under durum.
wheat (2m. ha.). Due to higher yield jump in bread wheat and high
susceptibility of durum wheats to rusts particularly yellow rust in
North India in recent past, there is shifting of wheat growers from
durum. to bread wheat.
In any breeding programme it is necessary to screen and identify
phenotypically stable genotypes which could perform uniformly under
different environmental conditions. Such a breeding effort requires
basic information on Genotype x Environment (G x E) interaction of
grain yield alongwith other traits. Grafius (1959) emphasized that
the study of individual yield component can lead to simplificatin in
genetic explanation of yield stability and hence is valuable to
breeders in prediction and determination of the effect of
environment.
Durum wheats generally lack stability of performance and depict
in-consistant behaviour when grown over wide range of environments.
To make them competitive to aestivum, it is essential to
develope possessing stable performance. The present study was taken
up to study the stability parameters of some durum wheat (Triticum
durum Desf) varieties.
*A part of the M. Sc. thesis
submitted by the Senior Author to the Haryana Agricultural
University, Hisar, India.
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