Genetic variability for agro-morphological traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under temperate rainfed conditions of Kashmir valley

The present study was undertaken to estimate the extent of genetic variability for different agro-morphological traits in an F₂ bi-parental mapping population derived from the cross between CW-5018 and SW-3. High GCV% (genotypic coefficient of variation) and PCV% (phenotypic coefficient of variation) was observed for the traits viz., number of tillers per plant, spikelets per spike, grains per spike, 1000 grain weight and grain yield per plant, indicating that there is an ample scope for the selection of promising plants for yield and its component traits from the population. At the same time, low GCV% and PCV% was recorded for traits viz., days to flowering and days to maturity, suggesting that selection for such traits in segregating populations like F₂ may not be effective. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percent of mean was recorded for traits viz., number of tillers per plant, plant height, spike length, number of spikelets per spike, grains per spike, 1000 grain weight and grain yield per plant, indicating better scope for selecting superior transgressive segregants out of the population. It is concluded that the selection of superior plants on the basis of desirable yield parameters in segregating generations like F₂ could be effective for developing high yielding wheat genotypes as direct selection for yield is difficult considering its complex nature being governed by many small effect genes/QTLs.