Performance Assessment of Diverse Spelt Wheat (Triticum spelta L.) Genotypes Across Three Years Seasons in Central Europe

Spelt wheat (Triticum spelta L.), known as an ancient cereal, is gaining popularity again due to its exceptional dietary value, adaptability to climate change, and low resource inputs. However, limited information is available about the diverse spelt lines agronomic and nutritional performance under fluctuating environments in central Europe. To determine agronomic and grain nutritional characteristics of 46 spelt wheat genotypes from the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland, a 3-year field study (2021–2023) was carried-out at the Crop Research Institute, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague. Our results showed highest genotypic variability among measured traits. Agronomic traits such as plant height, spike length, 1000 grain weight and grain yield were highest in genotype 69Z6.205, followed by 69Z6.204. Nutritional quality traits such as crude protein and starch content were greatest in genotypes 69Z6.205 (20.7% and 63.3%). Moreover, Zeleny sedimentation values were noted higher in 69Z6.205 genotype, compared to genotypes under study. Regarding years comparison, 2023 significantly improved the agronomic and quality traits followed by 2021 and 2022. The correlation and principal component analysis demonstrated that the grain yield, harvest index and quality factors (starch and Zeleny sedimentation value) are strongly associated with each other, thus indicating integrated adaptability potential to promote productivity and quality. The principal findings of the mantel correlation test are that the interannual climatic variability was significant contributor, shows trade-offs in total biomass production and partitioning efficiency to grain components, thereby revealing insights into traits performance over temporal scale. Overall, certain genotypes (particularly, 69Z6.205, 69Z6.204, 69Z6.148 and 69Z6.153) produced high yield and had good nutritional value, these lines could be considered for future breeding projects because of the nutrient-enhanced and climate-resilient characteristics. These findings suggest that spelt wheat has agronomic and nutritional potential as a viable substitute for bread wheat in central European agroecosystems.