Genetic Variability and Direct Selection Parameters in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L. M. Thell.)

Abstract

The experiment on 141 genotypes of wheat consisting one hundred ten F1’s,twenty-seven parental lines (22 females + 5 males) and four standard varieties (UP-2338, PBW-550, NW-1067 and NW-5054) of wheat was conducted to work out the genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance estimates of various attributes. The maximum value of phenotypic coefficient of variance (PCV) and genotypic coefficients of variance (GCV) were recorded in case of tillers per plant (PCV=13.37%, GCV=8.94%) and biological yield per plant (PCV=10.40%, GCV= 5.47). High estimates of heritability (>30%) were recorded for tillers per plant (44.74), harvest index (34.45), grain yield per plant (31.51) and 1000-grain weight (30.54). Moderate estimates of genetic advance (10-20%) were recorded for tillers per plant (12.32). High heritability and high or moderate genetic advance indicated the that there was additive gene action for the determination of the characters and this confirmed that these characters could be utilized for making efficient selection strategies for development of improved wheat varieties.