E. Farshadfar et al., SOME ASPECTS OF THE GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN WHEAT (TRITICUM-AESTIVUM L), Cereal Research Communications, 21(4), 1993, pp. 323-330
Six different bread wheat cultivars were used in a drought-stressed ex
periment, to estimate genetic variation and heritability for seven mor
phological characters related to drought. Path-analysis was used to pa
rtition the phenotypic correlations between some of the characters int
o direct and indirect effects. The phenotypic stability of the cultiva
rs was estimated. Moderate genetic variation was displayed by the root
system. The heritability estimates ranged from 0.30 to 0.94. The expe
cted genetic advance with selection of the highest 5% was around 0.90
for the root system. The root system had a high positive significant c
orrelation with total biomass, and showed the highest direct effect. S
hoot heigth had a high negative significant correlation with total bio
mass, but exhibited the least direct effect. A significant difference
was found between the root length and root-shoot ratio of Plainsman co
mpared with those of other cultivars. All cultivars had average stabil
ity and general adaptation. However, due to its better root system, hi
gher yield and shorter shoot height (plant height) Plainsman is the mo
st suitable for drought tolerance breeding.