Factor analysis of Agronomic and Physiological Traits of Ten Bread Wheat Cultivars under Two Irrigation Conditions

In order to have a successful breeding program, it is important to determine the relationship among the traits. This study was conducted at Research Farm of Isfahan University of Technology to evaluate relationships among some of the agronomic and physiological traits and grain yield of ten bread wheat cultivars in optimum and stress moisture (irrigation after 70±3 and 130±3 mm evaporation from class A pan) conditions in year 2006. Grain yields in both moisture conditions had significant positive phenotypic and genetic correlations with harvest index, number of grain/spike, RWC, chlorophyll a and sum of chlorophylls a and b and had significant negative correlation with RWL. Significant positive correlation were observed between peduncle weight at heading stage and difference of peduncle weights at stages heading and maturity with grain yield and RWC in moisture stresss condition. Factor analysis detected 6 and 7 factors which explained 94% and 94/6% of the total variation in moisture stress and non stress conditions, respectively. Results of canonical correlation analysis in non stress condition showed that among the agronomic traits, days to heading and 1000-grain weight and among the physiological traits, SLW and RWC had the highest contributions to the first pair of canonical variables. Results of canonical correlation analysis in stress condition showed that among the agronomic traits plant height and heading date and among the physiological characters RWC and SLW had the highest contribution to the second pairs of canonical variables.