Abstract

This research was conducted to estimate heritability and genetic advance for production traits in 20 wheat genotypes including two check cultivars. The genotypes were evaluated under irrigated and rainfed conditions using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications at The University of Agriculture, Peshawar during 2021-22 cropping season. Combined analysis of variance revealed significant differences among environments and genotypes for all the studied traits. Genotypes by environment interactions were significant for all traits except harvest index, indicating inconsistent performance of wheat genotype across the two environments. Flag leaf area, plant height, tiller meter², spikelets spike^-1, 1000-grain weight, biological yield and grain yield generally had lower values under rainfed environment. The highest grain yield of 3870 kg ha^-¹ was recorded for genotype G-306 followed by G-302 (3826 kg ha^-¹) and G-310 (3824 kg ha^-¹) under irrigated environment while under rainfed environment, highest grain yield was produced by genotype G-313 (3066 kg ha^-¹) followed by G-301 (3061 kg ha^-¹) and G-310 (3055 kg ha^-¹). Heritability estimates were calculated under rainfed and irrigated environments for spikelets spike^-1 (0.96 and 0.96) grains spike^-1 (0.72 and 0.88), 1000-grain weight (0.71 and 0.78), biological yield (0.54 and 0.87) and grain yield (0.50 and 0.84). Similarly expected genetic advance values were 1.27 vs 3.24 days for days to heading, 6.51 vs 6.55 cm² for flag leaf area, 0.90 vs 2.17 cm for plant height, 9.82 vs 30.22 tiller for tillers, 0.68 vs 0.83 cm for spike length, 1.47 vs 1.72 for spikelets spike^-1, 4.62 vs 4.74 grains for grains spike^-1 4.95 vs 5.04 g for 1000-grain weight, 3161.45 vs 1042.76 kg for biological yield, 384.35 vs 243.24 kg for grain yield and 0.22 vs 0.81% for harvest index under irrigated and rainfed environments, respectively. Wheat genotypes G-306, G-302, G-310 performed well under irrigated environment while G-313, G-301 and G-310 were high yielding under rainfed environment. Therefore, these genotypes need further testing across years and locations for making concrete recommendations.

Keywords: Triticum aestivum, genotypes, production, heritability estimates