An adaptation analysis of Australian and CIMMYT/ICARDA wheat germplasm in Australian production environments

An adaptation analysis was conducted in an attempt to identify adapted germ plasm and potential indicator or probe varieties that could be used for mor e efficient germplasm introduction and evaluation. A set of 39 advanced whe at breeding lines and named varieties from Australian breeding programs and 10 from the CIMMYT/ICARDA programs were tested using 20 environments acros s the Australian wheatbelt during a period of 3 years. AMMI analysis and cl assification analysis were performed on grain yield data. Five groups of ge notypes with similar patterns in performance within each group were identif ied, mostly reflecting their origin and pedigree. Most of the genotypes fro m the CIMMYT/ICARDA programs clustered together as did most of those from t he University of Adelaide and Agriculture Western Australia breeding progra ms. Four groups of environments with similar trends in discriminating genot ypes within each group were identified. There was a clear discrimination be tween subtropical and Mediterranean environments. Subtropical environments with supplementary irrigation showed similar patterns to Mediterranean envi ronments. Basic differences in adaptation and phenotypic stability among ge notypes from the CIMMYT/ICARDA programs in relation to genotypes from sever al breeding programs in Australia were identified. CIMMYT/ICARDA genotypes such as Attila, Nesser, Pfau/Seri//Bow, Genaro 81, and Maya/Nac performed w ell, especially in subtropical environments. The Australian varieties Harto g and Vulcan showed similar performance and could be used as indicator vari eties for assessing introduced germplasm for subtropical regions. Universit y of Adelaide developed genotypes Trident, Spear, Excalibur, and RAC 655, a long with the Agriculture Western Australia genotypes Tammin and 82Y:1186, showed wide adaptation to all environments and could be used as indicator v arieties for wide adaptation. Similarly, genotypes such as BT Schomburgk, P elsart, and Sunvale could be used as indicator varieties for the other geno type groups. The results of this study can serve as a basis for identificat ion and introduction of germplasm from the CIMMYT/ICARDA programs for vario us Australian production environments. It has also provided an understandin g of the pattern of discrimination of genotypes across each region of the A ustralian wheatbelt.