Yield vs. morphophysiological trait-based criteria for selection of durum wheat in a semi-arid Mediterranean region (northern Syria)

The value of germplasm-specific and general indexes of selection based on morphophysiological traits was assessed as an alternative to conventional yield-based selection for grain yield improvement of durum wheat in a semi-arid Mediterranean region. General indexes were developed from the evaluation of a collection of 503 landrace accessions. Specific indexes were also defined for each of the durum wheat types mediterraneum typicum and syriacum as well as for a third germplasm group including mostly Mediterranean material pertaining to neither of these types. Indexes included two or three traits among the following: displacement from optimal heading date (difference in absolute value of days from the mean heading date of three control cultivars), early growth vigour, kernels per spike and kernel weight, the two yield components being alternative to each other. The efficiency of selection criteria was assessed in another set of 64 entries in terms of predicted yield responses and actual yield gains over target environments other than that of selection. Each of the three environments acted by turns as the selection environment and the remaining two as the target environments. These environments allowed for the assessment of selection criteria over a wide range of seasonal rainfall and mean yield levels. Large genotype x environment interaction was observed for yield and early vigour. Ranking of selection indexes for predicted and actual yield responses were fairly consistent, indicating an advantage of general indexes. The best among them, including heading displacement and kernels per spike, was, on the average, 20% and 11% more efficient than yield-based selection in terms of predicted and actual responses, respectively. The advantage of this index was the consequence of the absence of covariation and the moderate to high values of genetic correlation with yield over target environments, heritability and ratio of genotypic to genotype x environment interaction variance of its component traits. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.