Genetic Diversity and Performance of Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. Durum Desf.) Germplasm Based on Agro-Morphological and Quality Traits: Experimentation and Statistical Analysis

The productivity and resilience of durum wheat have been enhanced through the selection of accessions, optimizing agronomic and quality traits to address environmental challenges. This study investigates the inter-group genetic diversity of 219 durum wheat accessions, including 120 elite lines from a national breeding program, 63 international lines, 27 Moroccan varieties, and 9 landraces. Trials were conducted at the Jemâa Shaïm experimental station (INRA-Morocco) with an "Alpha lattice" design and two replications. Significant correlations were observed between spike length and number of spikelets (r = 0.950; p < 0.001), and between gluten and protein content (r = 0.863; p < 0.001). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that agro-morphological traits explained 77.12% of variability, while quality traits accounted for 95.54%. Elite lines showed a high yellow pigment index (14.90), important for wheat technological quality. Traditional landraces performed well in spike length (8.78 cm), thousand-grain weight (50.23 g), protein content (17.07%), and gluten content (36.90%). Moroccan varieties achieved a grain yield of 6.12 t/ha. International lines exhibited the highest SDS value (9.39 ml), indicating superior technological quality. These findings emphasize the importance of landraces, Moroccan varieties, and elite accessions for developing high-quality, high-yielding durum wheat varieties adaptable to challenging conditions, contributing significantly to productivity and sustainability.