Variation of weight of spike in wheat varieties

The weight of the spike serves as a measure of the wheat seed yield. This study aimed to assess the variation in the weight of the spike among 50 genetically diverse wheat varieties. The experiment was set up as a randomized block design consisting of three replications during the 2016/17 growing season. The seeds were planted at a distance of 0.10 m in rows that were 1.0 m long, with 0.2 m between each row. Sixty fully mature plants (20 plants per replication) were collected and utilized to assess the weight of the spike. The variance analysis was carried out using MSTAT C (version 5.0). The hierarchical method of Euclidean distance was utilized to analyze similarities among wheat varieties. The results obtained showed considerable differences in the average values of the spike weight among the wheat varieties in the experimental year. The lowest weight of the spike was in the Kosmajka and Šumadija varieties (2.79 g), whereas the Milica variety had the highest spike weight (4.45 g). The average weight of the spike for all 50 wheat varieties was 3.51 g. The coefficient of variation values ranged from 10.4% for Danica to 20.5% for the Kremna variety. Similarity was illustrated in a dendrogram containing five clusters. The similarity was depicted in a dendrogram containing five groups of mutually similar varieties. The prominent cluster contained different numbers and compositions of varieties with the highest degree of similarity.