Evaluation of inheritance pattern for leaf rust resistance genes and heritability estimates for agronomic traits in F^sub 2^ progenies of bread wheat genotypes

The current experiment was conducted at experimental farm of Nuclear Institute of Agriculture, Tandojam, during the growing season of 2013-14, which comprised of seven wheat genotypes including four leaf rust resistant (Sunco, Vasco, SD-222 and SD-333) and three susceptible (TD-l, ICARDA and SD-888). These wheat genotypes were used to develop four F2 cross combinations (TD-1 x Vasco, ICARDA x SD-222, TD-1 x Sunco and SD-888 x SD-333) for the estimation of heritability and genetic pattern of resistance genes. The observations were recorded on gain yield associated traits to evaluate genetic potential of the F2 populations. The analysis of variance revealed significant differences (P≤0.05) among the genotypes for all the studied traits which suggested that the breeding material is worth for selection of desirable plants from subsequent segregating generations. The present findings suggest that most of the yield associated traits have been successfully transmitted. The information generated will be helpful for better understanding and selection of desirable material especially in early generations.