Relevance of yield-related growth parameters in protein, iron and zinc and the prospects of their utilization for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) improvement

Trial data for the period of 2005-2021 have been utilized to assess the inter-relationship of grain protein, iron, and zinc with different plant growth parameters in 10 agro-climatically diverse production environments. Protein registered strong association with the micronutrients. Iron increased with zinc until iron exceeded 50 ppm and zinc was more than 40 ppm. Barring the hills, iron content in late-sown wheat was higher than the timely-sown. Late-sown wheat also registered higher zinc content in four out of the five zones. Iron content was more variable in the late planted short duration genotypes. Analogy was observed between the three quality attributes for the response of plant height, pre- and post-anthesis durations. Comparison of different environments underlined that protein, iron and zinc contents are generally high in the environments where plants are not tall, pre-anthesis period is short and duration of the crop is not prolonged. Significance of the yield governing components was production environment specific. This Relationship was stronger in the late-sown wheat in comparison to the wheat varieties planted under timely sown condition especially in protein and iron. Collective contribution of these descriptors was highly significant but the major driving force differed and out of seven, only 1-2 plant growth parameters could be rated highly significant contributor. Selection criteria based upon only three parameters, i.e., height, heading and maturity have been suggested for certain situations. With some premium on yield, this simple methodology can surely be a way out to enhance grain nutrition properties of wheat.