Characterising variation in wheat traits under hostile soil conditions in India

• Published in: PloS one 2017-06, Vol.12 (6), p.e0179208-e0179208
• Main Authors: Khokhar, Jaswant S, Sareen, Sindhu, Tyagi, Bhudeva S, Singh, Gyanendra, Chowdhury, Apurba K, Dhar, Tapamay, Singh, Vinod, King, Ian P, Young, Scott D, Broadley, Martin R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Alkalinity; Aluminum; Barley; Biology and Life Sciences; Breeding; College campuses; Corn; Correlation; Crop yield; Crop yields; Crops; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Edible Grain - genetics; Field tests; Genetic aspects; Genotype; Genotypes; Grain; India; People and Places; Phenotype; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Physiology; Plant breeding; Productivity; Quantitative Trait, Heritable; Salinity; Salt; Seasons; Seeds - genetics; Sodium; Soil; Soil conditions; Soils; Stress, Physiological; Triticum - genetics; Variation (Biology); Wheat
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179208

Intensive crop breeding has increased wheat yields and production in India. Wheat improvement in India typically involves selecting yield and component traits under non-hostile soil conditions at regional scales. The aim of this study is to quantify G*E interactions on yield and component traits to further explore site-specific trait selection for hostile soils. Field experiments were conducted at six sites (pH range 4.5-9.5) in 2013-14 and 2014-15, in three agro-climatic regions of India. At each site, yield and component traits were measured on 36 genotypes, representing elite varieties from a wide genetic background developed for different regions. Mean grain yields ranged from 1.0 to 5.5 t ha-1 at hostile and non-hostile sites, respectively. Site (E) had the largest effect on yield and component traits, however, interactions between genotype and site (G*E) affected most traits to a greater extent than genotype alone. Within each agro-climatic region, yield and component traits correlated positively between hostile and non-hostile sites. However, some genotypes performed better under hostile soils, with site-specific relationships between yield and component traits, which supports the value of ongoing site-specific selection activities.