Evaluation of wheat recombinant inbred lines compared to control cultivars in terms of different germination components based on multi-trait indices

Wheat, as one of the most important crop on earth, is the main supplier of human food. This research was conducted to investigate the wheat recombinant inbred lines based on the germination components and compare them with the control varieties of the region to select the best lines using the selection index of the multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance (MGIDI). For this purpose, 40 wheat inbred lines (F8) were evaluated along with six control varieties (Arman, Araz, Ehsan, Tirgan, Meraj and Kalateh). According to the results of the analysis of variance, a significant difference between the studied lines was observed for all traits (P<.01). The results of factor analysis for the studied traits identified three factors that explained 86.93% of the total variation. Based on the MGIDI index, seven lines L3-4, L7-5, L7-4, L8-5, L4-4, L5-3, and L3-3 were selected as the superior genotypes with the lowest distance to the ideal genotype. Based on the cluster analysis, the genotypes were divided into five groups, and the genotypes of the fifth group were identified as the best genotypes in terms of all germination components and seedling traits, and were consistent with the genotypes identified based on the MGIDI index. The highest percentage of differential selection and genetic gain was assigned to the fresh weight vigour index (49.16% and 29.14%, respectively), which shows that the superiority of the selected genotypes is more prominent in terms of this trait. Based on the results, the recombinant inbred lines were significantly superior to the control cultivars in terms of the studied traits. Also, the results of this study showed that the use of the MGIDI index can efficiently identify superior genotypes.