Identification of Superior Genotypes with Distinct Quality Traits For Biofortification

Superior genotypes with distinct quality traits

Abstract

Breeding programmes for wheat biofortification often evaluate grain micronutrients and processing-related quality traits separately, leaving limited evidence on their simultaneous improvement within routine breeding material. The present study assessed wheat material to identify genotypes combining favourable grain quality with elevated grain iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentrations. A total of 164 segregating entries (57 F4 and 107 F6) were screened at Karnal during crop season 2023-24 for different quality traits viz. grain protein content, sedimentation volume, grain Fe and Zn concentrations. Wide variation was observed in both generations: in F4, protein ranged from 7.69 to 12.00%, sedimentation volume from 29.42 to 52.95 mL, Fe from 31.60 to 47.60 ppm, and Zn from 23.50 to 48.10 ppm; corresponding ranges in F6 were 7.36-11.53%, 25.50-48.59 mL, 30.60-43.80 ppm, and 23.10-43.20 ppm, respectively. Positive and statistically significant correlations among protein, Fe, and Zn were observed in both generations, with a repeatable Fe-Zn correlation of r = 0.65 (P < 0.001). On the basis of overall performance, four entries were subsequently selected and assessed across four locations (Hisar, Ludhiana, Dharwad, and Karnal) during crop season 2024-25 along with two check cultivars (DBW 187 and DBW 327). Based on overall superior quality, QCHIIWBR-01 expressed the highest across-location mean Fe concentration (47.3 ppm) and thousand kernel weight (51.3 g), whereas QCHIIWBR-04 recorded the highest mean hectoliter weight (77.0 kg hL–¹) and protein content (15.3%). These results indicate that CRP Biofortification-derived material can provide useful donor lines for combining processing-related quality traits with micronutrient enrichment; however, inference for multi-location performance is limited to descriptive across-location means because replication-level data required for formal stability analysis were unavailable.