Wheat populations: population performance and stability in organic and non-organic environments

Summary

Twenty winter wheat varieties were used as parents in a half diallel crossing programme for the production of wheat populations and physical mixtures that were then grown in field trials at two non-organic and two organic sites over three years in England. Yields of the populations and mixtures were compared with those of the relevant varieties grown as pure stands. In general, there was an improvement in yielding ability in the populations which was achieved while maintaining a high level of stability across environments. Potential improvements through selection or introduction of broader based populations are discussed.