Morphological Diversity and Genetic Variation in a Global Collection of Durum Wheat under Pakistani Conditions

Shabnam Niaz; Muhammad Waleed; Muhammad Akhlaq; Dr Nasir Ahmad Khan

Morphological Diversity and Genetic Variation in a Global Collection of Durum Wheat under Pakistani Conditions

Authors

Shabnam Niaz Lecturer, Department of Botany, Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan
Muhammad Waleed Manager Horticulture, Hamdard University Karachi, Pakistan
Muhammad Akhlaq Senior Research Officer, Research Department, Hamdard University Karachi, Pakistan
Dr Nasir Ahmad Khan Dept of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan

Keywords:

Lima bean, Dof, , genome-wide analysis, , evolutionary analysis, , transcription factor

Abstract

Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is widely grown for products such as pasta and macaroni, yet studies on its genetic variability under Pakistani conditions remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of 175 durum wheat accessions collected worldwide and grown for two consecutive years at Garhi Doppata, Azad Kashmir. Morphological traits recorded included germination, plant height, spike length, tillering capacity, peduncle length, leaf angle, seed number, spikelet number, plant thickness, yield attributes, and maturity stages. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among genotypes for all characters studied, indicating substantial genetic variation. Correlation analysis demonstrated both positive and negative associations among yield-related traits, such as a positive relationship between plant height and heading date, and a negative relationship between seed number per spike and harvest index. The presence of wide morphological variation suggests the potential of this germplasm for improving yield, early maturity, and related agronomic traits. The study concludes that the evaluated accessions can serve as valuable genetic resources for durum wheat breeding programs in Pakistan, offering scope to combine high-yielding and adaptability traits into improved genotypes.

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Morphological Diversity and Genetic Variation in a Global Collection of Durum Wheat under Pakistani Conditions