Exploring Trait Relationships: Correlation and Path Analysis in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Wheat is a vital food source and part of the Indian economy. It is the second most important food grain in India followed by rice. Thus, a field experiment comprised of 60 genotypes of wheat was carried out using the randomized block design with three replications at Wheat Research Station, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh during Rabi, 2023-24. The findings revealed significant positive correlations between grain yield per plant and traits such as plant height, number of effective tillers per plant, number of spikelets per spike, biological yield per plant and harvest index (%). The highest correlation of grain yield was observed with biological yield followed by the number of effective tillers per plant at both genotypic and phenotypic levels. Path coefficient analysis indicated that days to maturity, biological yield, harvest index, number of effective tillers per plant, length of main spike, 100-grain weight, number of spikelets per main spike and chlorophyll content at anthesis had a direct positive impact on grain yield. These results highlighted the importance of emphasizing the traits like number of effective tillers per plant, biological yield per plant and harvest index in wheat breeding programs to enhance grain yield, which had true relationship with grain production as they have shown positive and significant correlations along with positive direct effects.