Presentation by prof. Hussein Shimelis (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) at Wheat for Food Security in Africa conference, Oct 9, 2012, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

1. Variation and agronomic potential
of semi-arid wheat germplasm in the
Limpopo Province of South Africa
H. Shimelis and M.D. Laing
African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI)
School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Republic of South Africa
shimelish@ukzn.ac.za

2. IMPORTANT POINTS
 47 CIMMYT Drought Tolerant (DT) lines & 2 local wheat
cultivars screened for yield and components in a semi-arid
agro-ecology in the northern South Africa
 Best yield at 8.6 t ha -1 vs. 3.74 t ha -1 of local check
 5 DT lines with excellent yield and agronomic traits are
selected for direct production in Limpopo, South Africa
 Several lines with extreme performance on important traits
to be used as donor parents in backcross breeding

3. INTRODUCTION
 Drought is a major limiting factor of
wheat production globally
 Successful breeding for drought
resistance would be extremely valuable
 Different traits are available that are
consistently associated with higher
grain yield under drought conditions

4. INTRODUCTION
 Drought is one of the major constraints of
wheat production in South Africa.
 Limpopo Province - semi-arid = 300-400 mm p.a.
rainfall, restricting wheat production.
 CIMMYT has developing candidate genotypes for
semi-arid and unfavorable environments.
 Exploiting the genetic potential of these
germplasm for improved drought and heat
resistance is important for SA.

5. OBJECTIVES
1. To determine genetic variation and
potential of semi-arid wheat germplasm
for yield and important agronomic
traits in Limpopo Province.
2. Select suitable parents and introgress
traits into desirable genetic background
to develop drought and heat stress
resistant cultivars.

6. MATERIALS AND METHODS
OBJECTIVES
49 diverse bread wheat lines used; 47
bred for semi-arid environments and
two commercial local checks
(SST822, SST825) included as
comparative controls.

7. MATERIALS AND METHODS
 Field experiments conducted (2007 and
2008) in Limpopo Province at the
Experimental Farm of the University of
Limpopo.

8. MATERIALS AND METHODS
 Design: partially balanced lattice –
7 incomplete blocks, 3 replications
 Parameters measured:
Yield and agronomic traits linked with
Early or Terminal stress resistance
 Data analysis:
Agrobase Gen II and SAS Lattice procedure

9. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Observed variations:
• days to heading 52.62 - 98.91 days
• plant height 570 – 989.5 mm
• tiller numbers 8 - 24 per plant
• days to maturity 126 - 147 days
• spikelet length 53.3 - 130 mm
• No. spikelets per spike 11 - 31
• No. kernels per spike 8 - 46
• hundred kernel weight 3.33 - 6.34 g
• Yield 2.42 - 8.58 t ha-1

10. Key performers
 Early Heading (days)
 304=53, 338=79 vs. 301=95 ; 321=99
 Reduced Plant Height (mm)
 311 & 307=580, 303=640 vs. 348=980
 High Tiller Numbers
 319=24, 311=22 vs. 304=8
 Maturity Date (days)
 325=126; 302, 326=127, vs. 301=147
 Spike Length (mm)
 323=130; 317, 322=120 vs. 334=70
 Spikelets Per Spike
 323=31, 307=30, 322=27 vs. 310, 343=11

11. Key performers
 Kernels Per Spike
 323=46; 326, 334, 336=44 vs. 317=8
 Hundred Kernel Weight (g)
 336=6.34; 305, 322, 323, 324=5.3 vs. 321=4
 High Yield (t ha-1)
 336=8.6, 326=8.2; 302, 338=8 vs. 337=2.4

12. • Seed yield positively correlated (P<0.01) with
tiller number, spike length, number of
spikelets per spike, and hundred kernel weight.
• Lines 336, 326, 302, 338 and 322 selected with
excellent yield and agronomic traits under
semi-arid conditions and can be screened for
flour quality

13. Figure. Rotated principal component scores and percent
explained variance showing similarities among 49 entries
of T. aestivum

14. Some lines have good agronomic attributes e.g.
304 is early maturing (53 d), 307 and 311 with
short plant height (570 mm) but low tillering and
low yield. These and other lines could serve as
donor parents.
Further improvement of wheat for water limited
and marginal environments is possible using the
germplasm characterized here

15. Wheat trials at Syferkuil,
Limpopo, 2008

16. Wheat trials at Syferkuil,
Limpopo, 2008

17. Bird scaring ribbons

18. Future Research
Further evaluation and selection of best lines x
Agro-ecologies in the Province
Screen for quality traits and drought tolerance
Backcrosses: earliness x good yield & agronomic
traits
Test other sources of drought or heat shock
resistant germplasm

19. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• The National Research Foundation (NRF)
• CIMMYT
• The Generation Challenge Program (GCP)

20. Table 1. List and pedigree of 49 wheat lines used in the study
No. Line/pedigree No. Line/pedigree
301 SST822 326 PASTOR//TODY/BAU/3/PASTOR
302 PBW343 327 RL6043/4*NAC//2*PASTOR
303 CHAM 6 328 RL6043/4*NAC//2*PASTOR
304 KLEIN CHAMACO 329 RL6043/4*NAC//2*PASTOR
305 HIDHAB 330 RL6043/4*NAC//2*PASTOR
306 DHARWAR DRY 331 CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (224)//OPATA/3/PASTOR/4/JARU
307 FRTL/CMH83.2517 332 CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (224)//OPATA/3/PASTOR/4/JARU
308 FRTL/CMH83.2517 333 ALTAR 84/AE.SQ//2*OPATA/3/PIFED
309 FRAME*2/3/URES/JUN//KAUZ 334 CHEN/AE.SQ//OPATA/3/PASTOR
310 SARA/THB//VEE/3/BJY/COC//PRL/BOW 335 KRICHAUFF/2*PASTOR
311 ALTAR 84/AEGILOPS SQUARROSA (TAUS)//OPATA/3/BAU/MILAN 336 KRICHAUFF/2*PASTOR
312 PASTOR/FLORKWA.1//PASTOR 337 AUS GS50AT41//HXL8246/KAUZ/3/CUNNINGHAM
313 ALTAR 84/AEGILOPS SQUARROSA (TAUS)//OPATA/3/2*PJN/BOW//OPATA 338 WORRAKATTA/PASTOR
314 CHAM6/ATTILA//PASTOR 339 KABY//2*ALUBUC/BAYA
315 CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (224)//OPATA/3/PASTOR/4/PASTOR*2/OPATA 340 ATTILA/BABAX//PASTOR
CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (224)//OPATA/3/ALTAR 84/ ALTAR 84/AEGILOPS SQUARROSA
316 341
AEGILOPS SQUARROSA (TAUS)//OPATA/4/PASTOR (TAUS)//OCI/3/VEE/MJI//2*TUI
CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (224)//OPATA/3/ALTAR 84/ ALTAR 84/AEGILOPS SQUARROSA
317 342
AEGILOPS SQUARROSA (TAUS)//OPATA/4/PASTOR (TAUS)//OCI/3/VEE/MJI//2*TUI
CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (224)//OPATA/3/ALTAR 84/
318 343 MILAN/KAUZ//PRINIA/3/BABAX
AEGILOPS SQUARROSA (TAUS)//OPATA/4/PASTOR
319 ATTILA/PASTOR//PASTOR 344 MILAN/KAUZ//PRINIA/3/BABAX
CNO79//PF70354/MUS/3/PASTOR/4/CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA
320 ATTILA/PASTOR//PASTOR 345
(224)//OPATA
CNO79//PF70354/MUS/3/PASTOR/4/CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA
321 SST825 346
(224)//OPATA
322 ATTILA//PGO/SERI/3/PASTOR 347 TAM200/TUI//MILAN/KAUZ/3/BABAX
323 SLVS*2/PASTOR 348 BUC/MN72253//PASTOR/3/BABAX
324 SLVS*2/PASTOR 349 CROC_1/AE.SQUARROSA (213)//PGO/3/BABAX
325 PASTOR/3/PRL/SARA//TSI/VEE#5

21. Table 2. Analysis of variance of agronomic traits among 49 lines of
wheat tested under partially balanced lattice design with seven
incomplete blocks and three replications.
Trait
HDT PHT TLN MDT SLN
Source of variation DF MS F-value MS F-value MS F-value MS F-value MS F-value
Replication (Rep) 2 79.76 1.9ns 387.63 5.25* 522.27 605.51** 1096.41 234.67** 25.49 44.94**
Line (unadjusted) 48 171.57 182.33 45.48 84.73 8.62
Rep (adjusted) 18 49.00 224.60 2.20 10.44 0.58
Residual 78 40.31 38.98 0.56 3.34 0.56
Line (adjusted) 48 166.34 4.13** 205.45 5.27** 39.30 70.85** 77.88 23.31** 8.53 15.15**
Trait
SPS KPS HKW YLD
Source of variation DF MS F-value MS F-value MS F-value MS F-value
Rep 2 84.27 55.61** 171.15 148.87** 19.67 157.57** 0.57 16.98**
Line (unadjusted) 48 61.42 214.46 1.17 7.94
Rep (adjusted) 18 1.91 1.15 0.13 0.03
Residual 78 1.43 1.15 0.12 0.04
Line (adjusted) 48 56.85 39.89** 214.46 186.54** 1.15 9.32** 7.94 229.74**
DF=degrees of freedom; MS=mean square; NS=non significant.
*, ** denote significance differences at 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels,
respectively.