Heterosis in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for Earliness and Heat Tolerant Traits over the Environments

The present study was carried out in 9 diverse parents, their 36 hybrids and 2 checks evaluated during Rabi 2020-21 at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Mpuat, Udaipur in RBD with three replications in three different environments in wheat for earliness and heat tolerant traits viz., days to 50 per cent flowering, leaf canopy temperature, total protein content in grains, heat injury, proline content and total chlorophyll content on pooled basis. The pooled analysis for above characters revealed that mean squares due to environments, genotypes, parents, crosses as well as parents v/s. crosses were significant indicating presence of overall heterosis for the traits. Out of thirty six crosses 5 crosses viz., GJW 463 x RAJ 4120, DBW 173 x RAJ 4120, GJW 463 x DBW 173, GW 451 x LOK 1 and DBW 173 x RAJ 3777 were found superior with maximum significant heterobeltiosis and economic heterosis for heat tolerant traits and earliness over the environments. These genotypes could be used to maintain transgressive segregants in future breeding programme.