Hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) have been cultivated in similar geographic areas for ∼10,000 yr. The crossing barrier caused by ploidy difference suggests that different favorable alleles for yield-related traits may have accumulated in the two crops. Previous work allowed identification of favorable alleles at six quantitative trait loci (QTL) from durum wheat in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population from a cross of 'Mountrail' durum and 'Choteau' spring wheat. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of six durum alleles at yield component QTL in several spring wheat backgrounds. Three spring wheat cultivars were crossed with six hexaploid lines derived from the original Choteau/Mountrail cross to generate RILs. Heterozygous RILs, containing both the durum and the bread wheat alleles, were identified for each of the QTL. The heterozygous RILs were used to develop near-isogenic lines (NILs) for the six introgressed QTL. The NILs were grown in five environments under irrigated and rainfed conditions in Montana in 2017 and 2018. A durum allele QTL on chromosome 3B resulted in increased kernel weight in all five environments. The introgressed durum QTL alleles caused pleiotropic interactions among yield component traits. Environment and genetic background significantly affected the stability of introgressed QTL on yield components for four of the six QTL. Results suggest that alleles from durum may be useful for yield improvement of hexaploid spring wheat. However, interrelationships of yield components, pleiotropic interactions, and environment will affect the value of durum wheat alleles in hexaploid wheat backgrounds.
Greater understanding of the impacts of irrigation timing in hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) promotes better irrigation management, which optimizes the positive and minimizes the negative impacts on yield and quality. An experiment was conducted in 2014 to 2015 at Creston, MT. Eight cultivars (subplots) were randomly assigned to six water regimes (main plots). Aside from a rainfed check, irrigation treatments were: (i) replenishment of seasonal crop evapotranspiratory water loss via 32 mm per irrigation event (100ET); (ii) only 21 mm replenishment (66ET) per event to simulate season‐long deficit; and three treatments in which 100ET replacement was terminated prior to grain fill completion by scheduling final irrigation at respective stages of: (iii) med‐milk (100ET.MM), (iv) early milk (100ET.EM), (v) and anthesis (100ET.FL). The latter three treatments simulated end‐of‐season deficit irrigation. Irrigation treatment yields were similar, except for the lower 100ET.FL yield, indicating that wheat yield response to irrigation will be optimal in this environment as long as at least one irrigation event is supplied during grain fill. The cultivar yield responses to irrigation were similar. Irrigation increased biomass but had no impact on harvest index. Grain test weight (TWT) improved with irrigation. Falling number varied by cultivar and generally decreased with irrigation, but only significantly in 100ET, 66ET, and 100ET.MM. Irrigation improved yield and TWT, particularly during the hot and dry year. Irrigation can be terminated before completion of grain fill with no impact on yield and quality. Identification of adaptive cultivars with reduced irrigation or changing weather is necessary for improved productivity and grain quality.
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