Performance, Agro-Morphological, and Quality Traits of Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum Desf.) Germplasm: A Case Study in Jemâa Shaïm, Morocco

Abstract

The productivity and resilience of durum wheat have been enhanced through the selection of accessions, optimizing agronomic and quality traits to address environmental challenges. This study evaluates the performance of 219 durum wheat accessions, including 120 elite lines from a national breeding program (G1 to G120), 63 international lines (G121 to G183), 27 Moroccan varieties (including Faraj, Karim, Tomouh, Marzak, Amria, Chaoui, IRDEN, and others), and nine landraces (G211 to G219, from Imilchil, Rich, and Taounate regions). Trials were conducted at the Jemâa Shaïm experimental station (INRA-Morocco) with an "Alpha lattice" design and two replications. Significant correlations were observed between spike length (SL) and number of spikelets per spike (SPS) (r = 0.950; p < 0.001), and between grain yield (GY) and thousand-kernel weight (TKW) (r = 0.530; p < 0.01), while no correlation was found between quality parameters and GY (r = 0.010; p > 0.05). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that agronomic traits explained 77.12% of variability, while quality traits accounted for 95.54%. Elite lines exhibited a high yellow pigment index (14.90), important for technological quality. Traditional landraces performed well in spike length (8.78 cm), thousand-kernel weight (50.23 g), protein content (17.07%), and gluten content (36.90%). Moroccan varieties such as Faraj achieved a grain yield of 6.12 t/ha, while international lines showed the highest SDS value (9.39 mL). These findings highlight the potential of diverse accessions for developing high-yielding, high-quality durum wheat.

Keywords: agro-morphological traits; durum wheat; elite lines; gluten content and grain yield; inter-group genetic diversity; international lines; landraces; protein content.

Figure 1

Interval plot (mean with 95% confidence intervals) of agro-morphological parameters for 219 accessions and the four studied lines (box on the right, data on the left). (a) Awn length; (b) spike length; (c) number of spikelets per spike; (d) number of grains per spike; (e) thousand-kernel weight; and (f) grain yield; LD: landraces, MV: Moroccan varieties, EA: elite accessions, and IL: international lines.

Figure 2

Interval plot (mean with 95% confidence intervals) of quality parameters for 219 accessions and the four studied lines (box on the right, data on the left). (a) Protein content; (b) gluten content; (c) bread-making strength; (d) gluten strength; and (e) yellow pigment index; LD: landraces, MV: Moroccan varieties, EA: elite accessions, and IL: international lines.

Figure 2

Interval plot (mean with 95% confidence intervals) of quality parameters for 219 accessions and the four studied lines (box on the right, data on the left). (a) Protein content; (b) gluten content; (c) bread-making strength; (d) gluten strength; and (e) yellow pigment index; LD: landraces, MV: Moroccan varieties, EA: elite accessions, and IL: international lines.

Figure 3

Principal component analysis of agro-morphological (left) and quality (right) parameters. AWL: awn length; SL: spike length; SPS: number of spikelets per spike; GNS: number of grains per spike; TKW: thousand-kernel weight; GY: grain yield; PC: protein content; GC: gluten content; W: bread-making strength; SDS: gluten strength; YPI: yellow pigment index. Each axis (ACP) represents agro-morphological parameters and quality parameters, with grain yield included for both.

Figure 4

Circular hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) dendrogram grouping genotypes based on agro-morphological and quality parameters: each color represents a distinct group of genotypes with similar characteristics. G1–G120 representing elite accessions; G121–G129 representing landraces; G130–G156 representing Moroccan varieties; G157–G219 representing international lines.

Figure 5

Grouped mean with standard error illustrating the performance variability of genotypes across durum wheat groups. (a) Yellow pigment index; (b) grain yield; (c) gluten strength; (d) awn length; (e) spike length; (f) thousand-kernel weight; (g) protein content; (h) gluten content; LD: landraces, MV: Moroccan varieties, EA: elite accessions, and IL: international lines.

Figure 5

Grouped mean with standard error illustrating the performance variability of genotypes across durum wheat groups. (a) Yellow pigment index; (b) grain yield; (c) gluten strength; (d) awn length; (e) spike length; (f) thousand-kernel weight; (g) protein content; (h) gluten content; LD: landraces, MV: Moroccan varieties, EA: elite accessions, and IL: international lines.