Ppd-D1a allele donors for spring soft wheat for earliness

Abstract

The photoperiod-insensitive allele Ppd-D1a is widespread among spring soft wheat of subequatorial and equatorial countries. This allele is practically not found in Russian spring soft wheat cultivars. The allele Ppd-D1a decrease period from seedling to heading in soft wheat and can be used in breeding for earliness. Fourty cultivars with the allele Ppd-D1a have been studied in the field conditions for yield in 2021 and 2022. Eleven cultivars (AC Vista, AC Taber, Buck Fogon, Cunningham, DL-803-2, Odeta, Tigre, Sasia, Sunstar, Sunstate and Zingmai), which have yield at the level of standards, were selected among them. Using PCR-analysis the presence of the Ppd-D1a allele was confirmed for all 11 cultivars. Local checks have the Ppd-D1b allele. Above mentioned 11 cultivars were tested in field condition in 2023. Cultivars were estimated for interval from seedling to heading, plant height, spikelet number per spike, kernel number per spike, thousand kernel weight, grain weight per main spike and tiller spikes, harvest index, yield, protein and gluten content in grain. Ten out of 11 cultivars had significantly lower yield than standards (from -23 to 58 %). Almost all cultivars were characterized with significantly lower plant height (from -16 to -43 cm), lower thousand kernel weight (from -3.8 to -13.5 g), higher harvest index (to +8.0 percent point) and lower grain weight per main spike (from -0.02 to -0.52 g), than standards. Sunstar cultivar, which had yield at the level of standard cultivar Altaiskaya 70, is recommended as a donor of the Ppd-D1a allele in spring soft wheat breeding for earliness. Cluster analysis carried out on the basis of the considered traits classified cultivars with the Ppd-D1a and Ppd-D1b alleles in two different groups.