Cluster analysis of Elite spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes based on yield and yield attributing traits under irrigated condition

Abstract

The present study comprises the observation of thirty bread wheat genotypes developed by Nepal Agriculture Research Council and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre. This study was conducted with the objective to study the clusters of those wheat lines and the specific characters of the clusters, relationship among various clusters and their performance regarding different phenological, agro-morphological, grain yield and its components and others traits. The experiment was conducted in Alpha-lattice design with thirty wheat genotypes as treatments with three replications. Observations were recorded for days to booting, days to heading, days to maturity, days to flag leaf senescence, flag leaf duration, plant height, spike length, grains per spike, thousand kernel weights, biomass yield, grain yield and hectoliter weight and SPAD reading of the flag leaf. Four clusters of wheat genotypes were formed in a dendrogram by using euclidean distance and average linkage method. Cluster analysis revealed the grouping of four genotypes in one cluster that had better performance in yield and its attributes like; 1000-grain weight, plant height, grain filling duration and hectolitre weight. The observation of first cluster and the association therein of high value for the positively correlated yield attributing traits and high value of yield itself hint that selection of varieties from the first cluster can be worthwhile. So, these genotypes may be exploited for their direct release or as parents in hybridization programmes to develop high yielding wheat varieties.