Agro-morphological Characterization of Azerbaijan Durum Wheat Accessions by Multiple Statistical Analysis

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted, using biometrical analysis, to estimate the genetic diversity of biomorphological traits in 69 durum wheat accessions. The traits evaluated were plant height, number of fertile tillers, spike length, number of spikelets, number of grains per spike, grain weight per spike, grain yield and 1000 kernel weight. Analysis of variance demonstrated significant differences between durum wheat samples for the all the traits studied. Coefficient variation indicated that grain yield, spike length and grain weight per spike resulted from high genetic diversity between the traits studied. Correlation analysis showed that genotypes with high yield, had high numbers of grains per spike, high grain weight per spike and high 1000 kernel weight. Cluster analysis classified genotypes into seven main groups, so that genotypes with different characteristics were located in separate groups. Results showed that there was adequate genetic variability in Azerbaijan durum wheat germplasm to support breeding for improved grain yield and that indirect selection for high yield can be conducted in early generations using traits that include number of grains per spike, grain weight per spike and 1000 kernel weight.