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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 76(6)

Assessment of genetic diversity in wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotype for cold tolerance, agronomic, and quality traits

Berrin Dumlu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6370-2793 A , Metin Tosun B , Halit Karagoz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4055-7984 A , Umran Kucukozdemir A , Jan Bocianowski https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0102-0084 C , Hadi Alipour https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0086-002X D * and Aras Türkoglu E *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A East Anatolia Agricultural Research Institute, 25240 Erzurum, Türkiye.

B Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum, Türkiye.

C Department of Mathematical and Statistical Methods, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland.

D Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran.

E Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Necmettin Erbakan University, 42310 Konya, Türkiye.

* Correspondence to: ha.alipour@urmia.ac.ir, aras.turkoglu@erbakan.edu.tr

Handling Editor: Enrico Francia

Crop & Pasture Science 76, CP25047 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP25047
Submitted: 19 February 2025  Accepted: 3 May 2025  Published: 3 June 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Wheat (Triticum aestvium) contributes approximately 19% of daily caloric intake and 21% of protein in human diet, and is increasingly threatened by climate change-induced drought, erratic rainfall patterns, disease outbreaks, pest infestations, and cold damage, compounded by disruptions from political conflicts. Exposure to low temperatures induces morphological and physiological changes in plants, with the severity of these alterations depending on the duration of exposure.

Aims

This study aimed to identify promising genotypes derived from the wheat genotype Kırik that exhibit superior yield, yield components, grain quality, and cold resistance traits.

Methods

We assessed 186 genotypes from Kırik wheat collections obtained from farmers in the eastern Anatolia region of Türkiye, along with eight standard varieties. These genotypes were cultivated at altitudes exceeding 1850 m during the 2019–2022 production seasons based on an augmented design.

Key results

Several genotypes showed outstanding agronomic and quality traits: genotype G-56 had superior grain yield and grain weight per spike; G-102 had the highest number of spikes per m2; G-140 had the greatest spike length; G-80 had high wet gluten content, hectolitre (hL) weight, and gluten index; and G-34 had the highest protein content.

Conclusions

Wheat genotype Kırik is a potential source of genetic material for wheat breeding under adverse environmental and political conditions.

Implications

The superior genotypes derived from the Kırik genotype exhibit notable agronomic and quality characteristics, suggesting their potential utility as parental lines in pre-breeding programmes aimed at developing high-performing, climate-resilient wheat varieties.

Keywords: cold resistance, Kırik, local genotype, quality traits, wheat, yield.

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