Characterization of Vegetative Vigor of Two Doubled-Haploid Wheat Populations

Major and urgent interventions are needed in improving wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain yield to avert the predicted global crisis of food insecurity. Two doubled-haploid (DH) wheat populations were evaluated for normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI), vegetative index ratio (VI RATIO), plant height (PH) and ear length (EL) in four environments with an aim to select DH lines with strong vegetative vigor. Genotypes and environments showed significant (p < 0.001) effects and only PH showed a significant (p < 0.018) genotype-byenvironment interaction. The NDVI vs. VI RATIO showed a negative correlation (r(2) = -1 - -0.99) in all environments. Positive correlations existed for NDVI vs. PH (r(2) = 0.31 - 0.40) and PH vs. EL (r(2) = 0.41 - 0.54), suggesting a possible simultaneous improvement. Almost 23% of DH lines with precise, fixed, maximum variation, and strong vegetative vigor formed potential material for efficiently enhancing yield potential of wheat, which in turn could improve yield.