Ecological assessment of variability of quantitative signs of spring wheat samples

Author info »

Introduction

Objectively assess the prospects for the use of plant material in various breeding and genetic programs is possible only with a comprehensive study of a particular genotype. An important stage in the characterization of genetic diversity is the analysis of the variability of those traits that have a certain economic significance. In this case, a special place is occupied by biometric characteristics of the ear (ear length, length of awns, number of ears in the ear, weight of the ear), seed productivity (number of productive ears, number of seeds in the ear, weight of one ear, weight of 1000 seeds, yield) (Konovalov, et al., 1990).

Materials and Methods

Field research was conducted in 2018-2020 at the Educational Research and Production Center "Experimental Field of V.V. Dokuchaiev Kharkiv National Agrarian University (KhNAU named after V.V. Dokuchaiev). The experimental field is located within the land use of the educational and experimental farm of V.V. Dokuchaiev Kharkiv National Agrarian University in the north-eastern part of Kharkiv region.

Sowing was carried out in the optimal time for the culture of the first decade of April. Collectible samples were sown by hand under a marker, two rows 1 m long each with a row spacing of 0.15 m, at the rate of 100 grains per running meter. The estimated area of the plot for each sample was 1 m². All phenological observations were performed in accordance with the guidelines for the study of wheat collections.

The species were used as starting material of 76 samples Triticum aestivum, Triticum durum, Triticum monococcum, Triticum boeoticum, Triticum sinskajae, Triticum timopheevii, Triticum militinae, Triticum dicoccum, Triticum ispahanicum, Triticum persicum, Triticum turgidum, Triticum aethiopicum, Triticum spelta, Triticum compactum and amphidiploid specimens. The source material was obtained from the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine (NCGRRU) and has a number of economically valuable features. Samples were introduced from different ecological and geographical areas (Tables 1-3).

Table 1. Characteristics of the studying samples Triticum aestivum and Triticum durum.

Table 2. Characteristics of the studied samples of the genus Triticum L.

Table 3. Characteristics of the studied amphidiploid samples of the genus Triticum L.

Results

During the research of economically valuable traits in the collection samples of spring wheat, a significant positive indicator of asymmetry (As=0.06-3.53, p ≤ 0.05) was found in all studied samples in terms of grain weight per ear (Table 4). Significant positive asymmetry was observed in terms of ear length in samples UA0300391, CIGM.250-, Phyto33/08, UA0300223 and sample UA0300406 (respectively, As=3.32; 1.91; 1.40; 1.35; 1.31 ) by the length of the spines in samples Phyto 33/08, Bucuria, Diana and sample UA 0300237 (respectively, As=2.41; 2.39; 2.12; 1.74; p ≤ 0.05); by the number of spikelets in the ear in samples of Phyto 33/08, CIGM.250-, L 501, UA0300104, UA0300327 (respectively, As=2.32; 2.22; 1.47; 1.88; 1.39; p ≤ 0.05); by the number of productive spikelets in the ear in samples UA0300391, UA0300104, Phyto 33/08, CIGM.250-, Triticum × sinskourarticum (respectively, As=2.64; 2.19; 2.18; 2.14; 1.37; p ≤ 0.05); according to the number of grains in one ear samples L 685-12, Kharkiv 30, UA0300104, UA0300406, UA0300391 (respectively, As=3.09; 3.04; 2.34; 2.01; 1.95; p ≤ 0.05); according to the indicator, the mass of one ear in the samples of Kharkiv 30, Slavuta, Metiska, UA03000009, UA0300104 (respectively, As=4.27; 3.28; 2.69; 2.25; 1.84; p ≤ 0,05); in terms of grain weight from one ear, positive asymmetry was recorded in samples UA0300490, Slavuta, Kharkivska 30, UA 0300407, Metiska (respectively, As=5.14; 3.25; 3.18; 2.40; 2.16; p ≤ 0,05).

Table 4. Asymmetry of distribution of economically valuable features of collection samples of spring wheat on average for 2018-2021.

The high positive indicator of asymmetry indicates a tendency of variability of certain features in these samples towards smaller values of the manifestation of the feature. All other sample-feature combinations showed little or no asymmetry. According to the indicators of asymmetry, certain differences in the nature of the distribution of economically valuable traits at interspecific levels have been established (Table 4).

High asymmetry was observed in the species Triticum spelta, Triticum monococcum, Triticum aestivum (respectively, As=0.79; 0.65; 0.65; p ≤ 0.05). Species Triticum aestivum, Triticum turgidum, Triticum durum were characterized by a positive asymmetry in the length of the awns (As=0.96; 0.69 and 0.68, respectively; p ≤ 0.05). The species Triticum aestivum and Triticum monococcum showed an average level of asymmetry (As=0.81; 0.67; p ≤ 0.05) in terms of the number of spikelets in the ear. For the species Triticum aestivum and Triticum spelta, a high level of asymmetry was also noted in terms of the number of productive spikelets in the ear (respectively, As=1.03; 0.75; p ≤ 0.05). For the species Triticum persicum and Triticum aestivum in terms of the number of grains in one ear and the weight of grain from one ear, the level of asymmetry showed high values of As was 0.95, respectively; 0.88 and 1.24; 1.07. In terms of grain weight per ear, a high asymmetry index was recorded in the species Triticum persicum and amounted to 3.53; p ≤ 0.05.

The presence of a certain indicator of asymmetry in the samples of the studied species of spring wheat indicates a tendency of variability of the studied traits in the direction of the corresponding values (smaller or larger). The presence of a significant and medium level of asymmetry allows us to talk about the heterogeneity of the studied plant material and determines the possibility of selection by any of the studied features. Slight or absent asymmetry may indicate the stability of the symptom. According to researchers, the greatest value for selection are samples that are characterized by high variability with slight asymmetry. A high level of variability contributes to the effective selection of certain traits, and slight or no asymmetry can serve as an auxiliary indicator to achieve trait stability. The results obtained by us indicate that all samples of the studied collection of spring wheat meet these criteria and are a promising material for the selection of spring wheat in different areas of use. Analysis of the nature of the distribution of economically valuable traits revealed a significant positive excess for some collection samples of spring wheat (Table 5).

Table 5. Asymmetry of distribution of economically valuable features of spring wheat depending on the species.

So in the sample UA 0300391 (Table 6) the value of excess in terms of ear length is 14,65, p ≤ 0,05. For the collection sample of Bucuria, a significant positive excess in the length of the awns was recorded, which amounted to 11,20 p ≤ 0,05. This level of excess indicates that the environmental conditions in which the studies were conducted, contributed to the manifestation of the average values of the characteristics in the respective samples.

Table 6. The value of the excess distribution of economically valuable features of the collection samples of spring wheat on average 2018-2021.

Analysis of the nature of the distribution at the interspecific level showed the presence of significant positive excess in samples of the species Triticum spelta in terms of ear length (Ex=2.28; p ≤ 0.05).

According to the indicator, the length of the awns (Ex=2.74; p ≤ 0.05) in samples of the species Triticum turgidum; the number of productive spikelets (Ex=2.17; p ≤ 0.05) was observed in Triticum spelta. Samples of the species Triticum aestivum showed a positive Ex in terms of the number of grains in one ear and the weight of one ear (respectively Ex=6.97; 2.95; p ≤ 0.05). In terms of grain weight from one ear, positive excess was observed in uncommon samples and amounted to 3.46.

Therefore, plants in populations of these species of spring wheat are characterized mainly by the average values of these characteristics (Table 7).

Table 7. The value of the excess distribution of economically valuable traits depending on the type of spring wheat.

The results of research revealed the variability of collection samples of spring wheat on economically valuable traits, the level of which varied depending on the genotype, species and a certain trait. All structural elements play an important role in the formation of a certain harvest, namely: the number of productive ears, the mass of grain from the ear, the mass of grain from one ear (Fig. 1).

Fig 1. Variability of spring wheat collection by ear length at the interspecific level. Mdn-median; min-the minimum value; max-the maximum value.

The study of the productivity of samples of spring wheat in the Kharkiv region showed that the plants, depending on the countries of origin and their characteristics, reacted differently to arid conditions. The value of the median on the length of the ear ranged from 3,00 [2,50; 4,00] in the sample UA0300257 Triticum militinae to 11,00 [10,00: 13,00] in the sample UA 0300388. The highest indicators were recorded in the samples of the species Triticum spelta, namely UA 0300546 and UA0300392, respectively (Mdn=10,75 [7,00: 17,50] and [Mdn=10,00] [6,00: 14,00].

According to the indicator, the length of the awns varied from 1,00 [0,80: 2,00] in the Diana sample to 12.00 [10: 13,5] in the IU070589 Triticum aethiopicum sample. A significant positive indicator was observed in samples of Triticum durum, namely Diana and Kustanaiska 30 (Mdn=12,00 [1,00: 13,50] and (Mdn=11,90] [10,00: 14,00]) (Fig. 2).

Fig 2. Variability of spring wheat collection by length of spines at interspecific level. Mdn-median; min-the minimum value; max-the maximum value.

The highest number of productive spikelets was determined in samples of the species Triticum monococum, namely: UA 0300310 Mdn 17, 00 [13.00: 21.00], UA 0300221 Mdn 16, 00 [13.00: 21.00], and amphidiploid sample spring PAG-7 Mdn 17.00 [8.00: 21.00], and the lowest value was observed in the sample PAG-12 (Mdn=5.00 [3.00: 14.00] respectively).

The highest values for the number of grains in the ear were observed in the samples Gold of the species Triticum durum (Mdn=34.00 [9.00: 16.00] pcs), the sample Prokhorovka of the species Triticum aestium (Mdn=32.00 [28.00: 36.00] pcs.) and sample UA 0300238 species Triticum spelta (Mdn=30.00 [23.00: 41.00] pcs.) By the number of grains in one ear, the lowest values of the trait were observed in amphidiploid species, namely in samples of Triticum x sinskourarticum, PAG-12, PAG-31, PEAG (Mdn=6.0 [2.00: 14.00]) pcs., 8.0 [4.00: 9.00] pcs., 11.00 [5.00: 26.00] pcs, 11.00 [4.00: 32.00] pcs respectively) (Fig. 3, 4).

Fig 3. Variability of spring wheat collection by the number of productive spikelets at the interspecific level. Mdn-median; min-the minimum value; max-the maximum value.

Fig 4. Variability of spring wheat collection by the number of grains in the ear at the interspecific level. Mdn-median; min-the minimum value; max-the maximum value.

By the mass of one ear, the highest median values were observed in the sample of the species Triticum spelta (Mdn=2.26 [1.47:2.74] g), Orenburg 21 species of Triticum durum (Mdn=2.14 [1.60:2.50)] d) and the Sunnan sample of the species Triticum aestium (Mdn=1.92 [1.20:1.93] d), and the minimum value for the same indicator was recorded in amphidiploid species, namely: AD 8, Triticum x timococcum, Triticum x sinskourarticum [Mdn=0.32 [0.11:0.75] g; Mdn=0.43 [0.21:0.81] g; Mdn=0.54 [0.28:0.86] g) (Fig. 5).

Fig 5. Variability of spring wheat collection by weight of one ear at the interspecific level. Mdn-median; min-the minimum value; max-the maximum value.

In terms of grain weight from one ear, the highest value of the median was observed in the sample of the species Triticum durum, namely: Orenburg 21 (Mdn=1.68 [0.70:2.10] g), UA 0300238 species Triticum spelta (Mdn=1.26 [1.05:1.81] g) and the Sunnan sample of Triticum aestium (Mdn=1.21 [0.80:2.02] g), and the minimum value in terms of grain weight per ear was observed in amphidiploid species, namely: AD 8, Triticum x sinskourarticum, UA0300257 Tr. militinae (Mdn=0.12 [0.01:1.17] g; Mdn=0.13[0.02:0.26] g; Mdn=0.23 [0.01:0.52] g) (Fig. 6).

Fig 6. Variability of spring wheat collection by grain weight of one ear at the interspecific level. Mdn-median; min-the minimum value; max-the maximum value.

Conclusion

Thus, a high level of variability of economically valuable traits of spring wheat has been established, which indicates a significant genetic diversity of the studied samples and makes it possible to plan the selection for any of the studied traits. A positive asymmetry was observed in samples of the species Triticum monococcum, Triticum spelta, Triticum aestivum As=0.79; 0.65; 0.65; p ≤ 0.05.

The presence of a certain indicator of asymmetry in the studied samples of Triticum L. indicates a tendency of variability of the studied features in the direction of the corresponding values (smaller or larger).

The presence of a significant and medium level of asymmetry allows us to talk about the heterogeneity of the studied plant material and determines the possibility of selection by any of the studied features.

References

Goncharov, N.P. (2002). Comparative genetics of wheat and their relatives. Novosibirsk: Sib. Univ. Publishing House, p:252 (in Russian).

Dorofeev, V.F., Udachin, R.A., Semenova, L.V. (1987). Wheat of the world. 2nd ed., Rev. and add. Lviv: V.O Agropromizdat. Leningrad. Otdel, p:560 (in Russian).

Koval, S.F., Koval, V.S., Shamanin, V.P. (2001). Isogenic wheat lines. Omsk, Omskblankizdat, p:152 (in Russian).

Konovalov, Yu.B., Dolgodvorova, L.I., Stepanova, L.V. (1990). Private selection of field crops. Moscow. Agropromizdat, p:543 (in Russian).

Lakin, G.F. (1978). Biometrics. Textbook for Universities and Pedagogical Institutes. Moscow. Higher School, p:343 (in Russian).

Rozhkov, R.V. (2005). Coupling between the elements of the ear in the full-grown species of wheat and in the hybrids with the hard and hard wheat. Visnik of Kharkiv National Agrarian University, 1:96-101 (in Ukraine).

Rokitsky, P.F. (1978). Introduction to statistical genetics. Minsk: Higher School, p:448.

Beil, G.M., Atkins, R.E. (1965). Inheritance of quantitative characters in grain sorgum. Jowa Journal of Science, 39:345-358 (in Russian).

Watanabe, N. (2000). Development and use of near-isogenic lines of durum wheat cultivar “LD222”. Abstracts of the 11th EWAC Conference dedicated to the memory of O.I. Maystrenko. Novosybirsk, p:65-66 (in Russian).

Watanabe, N. (2001). Origin of triticum petropavlovskyi. Annual Wheat Newsletter, 47:89-90 (in Russian).