Direct Multi-trials Estimation of Genetic Progress in Wheat Breeding at NARDI Fundulea, Romania

Genetic progress for grain yield in wheat breeding at NARDI Fundulea, estimated by direct comparison of nine cultivars registered during 2005-2025 in 48 yield trials from Southern and Western Romania and sixteen yield trials from Central and Eastern Romania conducted for four years (2021-2024), was 49 kg/ha/year and 44.8 kg/ha/year, respectively. The yield increase obtained by the highest yielding recent cultivar (FDL Columna) over Glosa was 703 and 777 kg/ha in the two zones. This yield increase is additional to the 1184 kg/ha, and 1581 kg/ha increase previously recorded by Glosa over Bezostaya 1. All new cultivars had yield coefficients of variation smaller than Glosa in Southern and Western Romania, while in the Central and Eastern part of the country only two cultivars had better yield stability than Glosa. Genetic progress for yielding potential, estimated by the maximum yield recorded for each cultivar in any of the trials from the two zones, was 70.5 and 51.1 kg/ha/year, respectively, while for minimum yield we only observed a nonsignificant trend of increase of 12.1 kg/ha/year. Under reduced Nitrogen fertilization we observed a significant genetic progress of 40.7 and 47.1 kg/ha/year, respectively, while in the organic agriculture system we found a nonsignificant trend of increased yields of 27.1 kg/ha/year. Most of the new cultivars had a grain protein concentration higher than Glosa, and cultivar FDL Columna, which was on average the highest yielding also had the highest grain protein concentration averaged on twenty-three trials. We found significant genetic progress for resistance to Fusarium head blight, with cultivar FDL Consecvent proving to be the most resistant for four years under artificial inoculation. The superior performance of the most recent cultivars might be related to the fact that they carry introgressions from rye or from Aegilops ventricosa.