Phenotypic and molecular variability of Serbian and Austrian winter wheat varieties

Abstract

Genetic variability of locally adapted Serbian and Austrian winter wheat varieties was evaluated in order to assess their potential as a genetic material that can be exploited in crosses between two different European breeding pools. A field trial with 20 elite wheat varieties from each country was set at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia in a row-column design with three replications during the 2016/2017 season. The genotypes were phenotyped for tillering, heading and flowering time, plant height, ear length, number of spikelets per spike, number of grains per spike, thousand-kernel weight, chlorophyll content and resistance to prevalent wheat diseases. Additionally, the varieties were genotyped with 30 microsatellites. The varieties from two geographic regions and different release periods were clearly differentiated with population structure obtained from marker data. A significant phenotypic variation was found for most of the traits. Coefficients of variation were the largest for chlorophyll content (16.5%) and plant height (10.1%). Generally, the early genotypes were more susceptible to leaf rust (r = -0.6), while the late maturing genotypes produced more grains per spike (r = 0.4). The Serbian varieties had earlier tillering (p < 0.03), heading (p < 0.00) and flowering (p < 0.00) dates, shorter plant stems (p < 0.00), higher chlorophyll content (p < 0.00) and were more susceptible to leaf rust (p < 0.00) than the Austrian ones. The principal component analysis indicated general properties of the groups that would facilitate the choice of parent combinations for crossings.