Performance and yield stability of doubled haploid population of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under high-temperature regime

The DH lines derived from PBW343 x IC252478 were sown for three distinct sowing dates for the years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. The area chosen for this study was chosen because it is a hot spot for wheat production, and heat stress is a major limitation for wheat growers. In this study, three replicates of the alpha lattice design were employed. Stability measures and genotype-environment interaction were shown to be valuable methods in determining the best lines for heat-stressed environments. Out of 165 DH lines, DH 71, DH 150, DH 34, DH13 DH 64, DH 138, DH 98, DH 84, DH 62, DH 104, DH 74, DH 3, DH 104, DH 107, and DH 156 were ranked closest to ideal and winning genotype in the ranking of genotypes for mean yield, mean versus stability, GGE biplot, and stability performance across the six environments; these were highly adapted, most stable, heat-tolerant, and high-yielding lines. Moreover, the population was also subjected to quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping for which composite interval mapping (CIM) was performed and it unravelled a total of 36 QTLs where 6 QTLS were detected in non-stressed and 30 QTLs in heat-stressed condition. The detected QTLs spanned on 1A, 1D, 2B, 2D, 3B, 4D, 5B, and 6D chromosomes. The overall goal of the current investigation was to find the best suitable double haploid lines which can withstand heat stress and to find those QTLs which are influential to heat stress for yield-related traits.