Collection, conservation and morphological characterization of Aegilops tauschii Coss. Accessions From Kashmir, India

Aegilops tauschii is an important crop wild relative of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) and its gene pool is currently considered the most important resource for wheat improvement as potential gene donor for drought, disease and pest resistance. Aegilops tauschii subsp. tauschii grows abundantly at several places in Kashmir but is somewhat uncommon. Fourteen germplasm accessions were collected for the first time from diverse locations mainly in Budgam and Srinagar districts of Kashmir and conserved in the National Genebank. Analysis of data recorded on morphological traits of plant height, days to 50% flowering, days to 50% maturity, spike length, spikelets/spike, no. of seeds/spikelet, seed yield/plant and 100-grain weight revealed considerable variability. Significant positive association of days to flowering was observed with spike length and number of spikelets/ spike. Interestingly, spike length revealed a significant positive association with altitude of place from where accessions were originally collected. Principal component analysis revealed that first two components having Eigen values greater than one contributed nearly 60% variance. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into three distinct groups mainly on the basis of spike length. The study provides basic information about this valuable crop wild relative and the information may help in its proper utilization.