Abstract

The effect of vernalization on growth and yield-contributing traits was studied in winter wheat (cv. Saptdhara) x spring wheat (cv. HW 3024) derived 64 doubled-haploid (DH) lines. The material was divided into two sets- with vernalization (V) treatment at 4 ± 0.5°C temperatures and without/no vernalization (NV). There were significant differences between V and NV treatments as well as between the genotypes for all the traits, including days to flowering, plant height, total tillers per plant, effective tillers per plant, spike length, spikelets per spike, and grains per spike, grain yield per plant, 1000-grain weight, and harvest index. The performance of the DH lines significantly improved under V treatment for various traits. During the early growth stages, V had a pronounced effect on growth habit of the plants with no/low injury and improved the survival rate. Two DH lines, DH 33 and DH 59 with spring type growth habit and NV requirement were identified and can be utilized for future spring wheat improvement programs.

Key words: Winter wheat, spring wheat, vernalization, doubled-haploids, agronomic traits.