Background: Twenty distinct wheat genotypes, including three check varieties, were evaluated under late-sown heat stress conditions using correlation and path coefficient analysis to assess the direct and indirect effects of yield-attributing traits on grain yield. The study was conducted during the winter season of 2023 at IAAS Paklihawa Campus, Bhairahawa, Nepal.
Methods: The experiment employed an alpha lattice design with two replications. Heat stress was induced by delayed sowing. Ten randomly selected plants from each genotype were assessed for six traits: plant height, spike length, spikelets per spike, spike weight, thousand grain weight, and tillers per meter square. Correlation analysis and path coefficient analysis were used to determine trait associations with grain yield.
Results: Spikelets per spike was highly positively and correlated with spike weight. Spike weight was highly positively and significantly correlated with thousand grain weight. Besides, grain yield (YLD) showed a significant positive association with tillers per meter square. The other characters such as, spike length, plant height, spike weight, spikelets per spike and thousand grain weight are positively associated with the yield trait.
Conclusion: Breeding efforts should be encouraged for the improvement of positively associated traits with the yield trait in order to boost wheat yields under situations of heat stress.
correlation, path coefficient, breeding, genotypes, wheat
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