Genotype x environment interaction for grain quality traits in emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum (schrank.) Schubl.)

Abstract

Emmer wheat is a traditionally cultivated wheat in Northern Karnataka, Southern Maharashtra, Saurashtra region of coastal Gujarat, parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and grown in an area of one lakh hectares with a total production of 2.5 lakh tonnes [1]. This wheat is hard with more vitreous nature and has superior milling and functional quality. It is also a good source of protein, dietary fiber, b-carotene with low fat content. It also possesses high degree of resistance to rust diseases and tolerance to terminal heat stress. It is commonly used for the preparation of various traditional pasta products and fetches premium price in the market as compared to durum and bread wheat. The cultivation of this wheat needs to be popularized in non-traditional areas for its exceptional grain qualities. For this, experimental level evaluation of potential genotypes over different zones for quality parameters should be done. With this objective in mind, 10 emmer wheat lines (DDK 1025, DDK 1028, DDK 1029, DDK 1030, MACS 2947, MACS 2956, MACS 2961, HW 1095, NP 200, and DDK 1009) drawn from different wheat improvement centres in the country along with durum (MACS 2846) and bread wheat (MACS 2496) were evaluated over seven locations (Ugar, Arabhavi, Dharwad in Karnataka, Pune in Maharashtra, Wellington in Tamil Nadu and Vijapur and Junagadh in Gujarat) across India during 2004-05 winter for four important grain quality traits.