Diallel Analysis of Wheat Cultivars for Grain Yield and Estimation of Their Baking Quality Using STS Markers

Increasing grain yield and improving the quality of bread are among the most important goals of wheat breeding programs in Iran. Understanding the genetic control of traits and finding molecular or morphological markers associated with them are also prerequisites for any genetic engineering program. In this study, 100 progenies of a 10 × 10 diallel cross were used to analyse the genetics of grain yield and bakery values using STS markers associated with HMWG subunits. This research was carried out during 2018 and 2019 cropping season at Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources experimental fields. In the first year, 10 wheat cultivars, including Gonbad, Morvarid, Kalate, Ehsan, Sirvan, Baharan, Chamran2, Shush, Mehrgan and Brat collected from different geographical regions of Iran were planted and crossed in the field. In the second year, the parents and crosses were planted in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications. The grain yield, number of spikes per plant, number of seeds per spike, seed weight, days to emergence and plant height were recorded. The results of this study indicated significant genetic differences between the parents. Narrow-sense heritability analysis revealed that the crossing of cultivars is the best breeding method to enhance seed yield, number of spikes per plant and days to emergence. Also, to improve the number of seeds per spike, seed weight and plant height, classical breeding methods may offer higher efficiency. Marvarid and Gonbad were ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively with respect to general combining abilities for grain yield, attributed to their positive and significant general combining ability effects. The highest specific combining ability was observed for Ehsan×Gonbad, Marvarid×Chamran 2 and Shush×Sirvan crosses. The results of molecular markers analysis showed that the STS markers were able to identify the difference in the baking value of cultivars. The quality score of the cultivars ranged 6 and 10 and to this end, Kalate and Brat were the top cultivars. Therefore, due to superiority in terms of both quantity and quality for yield, these cultivars can be used as parents with desirable genes for future breeding programs. Overall, the STS markers employed in this study proved to be valuable markers for enhancing the genetic background of bread wheat, particularly when employing marker-assisted selection for bakery value.