Effect of Boron Spraying on Flour Quality Traits of Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Genotypes and Estimation of Their Genetic Parameters

A field experiment was conducted during the 2024–2025 winter season at the Research Station of the Field Crops Department, College of Agriculture, Tikrit University, under gypsum soil conditions in Salahuddin Governorate. The study evaluated the performance of twenty bread wheat genotypes from ICARDA in response to foliar spraying with boron at the heading stage using three concentrations: 0, 50, and 100 mg L⁻¹. The experiment followed a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement and three replications. Boron concentrations were assigned to the main plots, while genotypes were placed in the subplots.The investigated flour quality traits were wet and dry gluten, protein content, sedimentation index, and flour moisture. Significant differences were observed among boron concentrations, genotypes, and their interactions. Foliar spraying with 100 mg L⁻¹ increased wet gluten (41.313%), dry gluten (13.785%), and sedimentation index (33.598%), while reducing flour moisture to 12.763%. Genotype 123 recorded the highest protein content (16.744%), wet gluten (50.677%), and dry gluten (16.922%), whereas genotype 184 showed the highest sedimentation index (39.000%) and genotype 10 had the lowest flour moisture (11.900%).Genetic analysis revealed low genotypic, environmental, and phenotypic coefficients of variation for all traits. Broad-sense heritability was high for protein, wet gluten, and dry gluten; moderate for sedimentation index; and low for moisture percentage. Expected genetic advance as a percentage of the mean was low for all traits. These results indicate that hybridization programs offer potential for enhancing flour quality traits under gypsum soil conditions.