Genetic variability and multivariate assessment of wheat–Aegilops derivatives under diverse agro-climatic environments

Abstract

Cultivated wheat has a narrow genetic base; therefore, wild relatives represent an invaluable source of novel alleles for broadening genetic diversity and enhancing yield potential. We evaluated 109 wheat–Aegilops derivatives including parents and three check varieties across four diverse agro-climatic environments (Baru Sahib, Palampur, Ludhiana and Ayodhya) to examine genetic variability, trait associations and diversity using multivariate approaches. The combined analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that genetic variability, environmental conditions and G × E interactions significantly impact the agronomic performance and yield potential of the wheat-Aegilops derivatives. Significant phenotypic variation was observed for all morpho-physiological and yield-related traits, showing genetic diversity and environmental effects on trait expression. Broad-sense heritability ranged from 38.30 to 91.69 %, while genetic advance mean varied from 2.15 to 44.69 %, with grain yield recording the highest genetic advance over mean. Grain yield exhibited strong positive associations with spike length, grains per spike and thousand-grain weight. The first two principal components together explained 83.4 % of the variation (PC1=72.9 % and PC2 10.5 %) and were associated with grain yield, thousand-grain weight, spike length and grains per spike. Five stable wheat–Aegilops derivatives, such as MB-13-2-2, PRH3-62-1-4, B-56-2-5-1, B-52-1-4 and PRH3-45-3 were observed across locations. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for utilization wheat–Aegilops derivatives in future breeding programs aimed to developing climate-resilient high yielded wheat cultivars.