Performance of different bread wheat varieties for yield and yield attributes under diallel combinations

The present research work was conducted during winter 2013–14 and 2014–15 at Agricultural Research Station, Chitral-Pakistan. Objectives of the present research was to determine the mean performance and correlations of parents, direct and reciprocal crosses in bread wheat varieties for different yield components under 6X6 diallel combinations. Days to heading of parents exhibited highly significant differences for plant height, grains per spike, grain weight per spike, 100-grain weight and grain yield while significant for days to heading and days to maturity and non significant for biological yield. Both direct and reciprocal crosses showed highly significant differences for all the studied traits. Correlations of grain yield with 100-grain weight of parents was significant and positive while grains per spike and grain yield with plant height of direct crosses was significant and positive and grain yield with biological yield of reciprocal crosses was highly significant and positive. Maximum days to heading of parent (Dirk), direct cross (NR-218 X Dirk), reciprocal cross (Pirsabaq-2013 X Dirk) and difference were 171 days, 170 days and 172 days, and 6 days, respectively. Parent (Dirk), direct (NR-218 X Dirk) cross, reciprocal cross (Dirk X pirsabaq-2013) and difference were 190 days, 184 days, 189 days and 7 days, respectively. Maximum 138.97 cm, 115.00 cm and 129.17 cm plant height was recorded by parent (Dirk), direct cross (NR-218 X Dirk) and reciprocal cross (Pirsabaq-2013 X Dirk) while the maximum difference was 25.1 cm. Parent (N-46), direct cross (NR-218 X N-46), reciprocal cross (N-46 X Dirk) and difference for grains per spike was 61 grains, 66 grains, 71 grains and 22 grains and was maximum. Recorded maximum grain weight per spike of parent (Fakhr e Sarhad), direct cross (Dirk X Pirsabaq-2013), reciprocal cross (Fakhr e Sarhad X Pirsabaq-2013) and difference were 3.33 g, 4 g, 5 g and 3 g, respectively. Parent (Dirk), direct cross (Dirk X N-46), reciprocal cross (Fakhr e Sarhad X Pirsabaq-2013) and difference for 100-grain weight was 9 g, 6 g, 7 g and 2 g and was maximum. Maximum biological yield for parents (NR-218), direct cross (NR-218 X Dirk), reciprocal cross (Fakhr e Sarhad X Dirk) and difference were 1.1001 kg/Plot, 0.6853 kg/Plot, 1.15 kg/Plot and 0.8147 kg/Plot, respectively. The recorded maximum grain yields for parent (Suliman-96), direct cross (Dirk X N-46), reciprocal cross (Dirk X NR-218) were 1.0175 kg/Plot, 0.575 kg/Plot, 1.405 kg/Plot and 0.895 kg/Plot, respectively.