Exploitation Mutagenesis In Improve Bread Wheat And Resistance To Fungal In Marginal Soils In Egypt To Realize Self-Sufficiency

Abstract Achieving self-sufficiency in bread wheat in Egypt requires developing new varieties that have many characteristics, including high grain yield, resistance to fungal diseases and greater adaptation to marginal soils. In this context, newly developed mutant lines of bread wheat (M4-M6 generations) were evaluated over three consecutive seasons (2021–2023) in marginal soils for grain yield components and susceptibility to fungal diseases to identify the most productive mutant lines and fungal disease-resistant mutant lines. Genotypes were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates, and in vitro pathology tests were performed in the M6 ​​generation. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed among mutant lines for all studied traits. Many mutant lines in the M6 ​​generation outperformed the parent cultivars in the resulting grain yield components. The grain yield components exhibited a high coefficient of genetic variance, high heritability, and high expected genetic advance, indicating a significant potential for genetic improvement through selection. Moreover, the discovered promising mutations were less susceptible to fungal diseases as a pathogen than the parent varieties. These lines will be recommended for preliminary yield trials to identify stable, high-performance lines and/or for incorporation into breeding programs in marginal environments.