Correlation between Traits and Path Analysis Coefficient for Grain Yield and Other Quantitative Traits in Bread Wheat under Semi Arid Conditions

Abstract:

Current research was conducted out at the Field Crop Institute-Agricultural Experimental Station of Setif (Algeria) during 2010/11 and 2011/12 crop seasons. The objectives were to determine traits affecting grain yield in 29 bread wheat genotypes and to establish the nature of relation between grain yield and yield components by partitioning the correlation coefficients between grain yield and its components into direct and indirect effects by using simple correlation, stepwise regression and path analysis. The obtained results indicated that grain yield was positively correlated to biological yield, straw yield and number of spike per plant. The results of step by step regression showed that traits including biological yield and harvest index had justified approximately 99. 7% of grain yield variations. In the path coefficient analysis, biological yield and harvest index should be considered as the main yield components because these traits showed a positive direct effects towards increasing grain yield with the values of + 1.051 and + 0.364, respectively. Depending on the findings of this study, biological yield and harvest index may be used an effective selection criterion to improve genetic yield potential of bread wheat genotypes.