Inheritance of Some Salt Tolerance-Related Traits in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at the Seedling Stage: A Study of Combining Ability

The worldwide rise in soil salinization is among the most critical consequences of climate change, posing a significant threat to food security. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a staple crop of paramount importance worldwide, encounters significant production limitations due to abiotic stressors, particularly salinity. Consequently, the development and cultivation of salt-tolerant wheat genotypes have emerged as an essential strategy to sustain agricultural productivity and safeguard global food security. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of salinity (150 mM) on the performance and combining ability of 10 hybrid combinations (F2) and their parents that were obtained through a line &times: tester mating design at the seedling stage. Morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits were assessed under both control and salt-stress conditions. Among the assessed traits, SFW emerged as the strongest predictor of salt tolerance, demonstrating the highest correlation with MFVS and the greatest contribution in the regression model. The results highlighted distinct responses among the studied genotypes. Hybrid H5 demonstrated particular promise, surpassing the performance of the superior parent for Na+, K+, K+/Na+ and proline (Pro). Furthermore, tester T1 emerged as a good combiner for proline (Pro), total soluble sugars content (Sug), chlorophyll content (Chl) and root length (RL) under saline conditions. In contrast, under control conditions, line L1 and testers T2, T3, and T5 exhibited superior performance, demonstrating significant general combining ability (GCA) effects for four traits simultaneously. Hybrid H4 emerged as outstanding under salt stress, exhibiting favorable specific combining ability (SCA) effects for Na+, K+/Na+ ratio, root length (RL), relative water content (RWC), and total soluble sugars content (Sug). Under normal conditions, hybrids H7 and H10 exhibited significantly superior performance across three traits simultaneously. Non-additive genetic effects predominantly influenced the studied traits under both conditions. The parental and hybrid combinations show promise for incorporation into breeding programs designed to improve salt tolerance under the specific conditions studied.