Heritability of grain yield,plant height and test weight of a population of winter wheat adapted to Southwestern Ontario

Summary Grain yield, plant height and test weight were studied in a population of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The population consisted of F₂ bulk populations of 42 crosses among 11 genotypes adapted to S. W. Ontario. Heritabilities were: 0.30±0.32 for yield, 0.77±0.15 for height and 0.98±0.08 for test weight. Predicted genetic gain with 10% selection intensity was 0.15 t/ha for yield, 10.1 cm for height and 3.00 kg/hl for test weight. The low heritability for yield indicates that effective selection would require pedigree information and progeny tests, while the high heritabilities for height and test weight indicate that selection for these traits using single plots would be appropriate.