Origin and diversity of North American hard spring wheats

Genetic diversity is an important safeguard against crop vulnerability to biotic and abiotic stresses. Coefficient-of-parentage (COP) values of 248 North American hard spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell) cultivars released from 1901 to 1991 were used to estimate the genetic similarity of cultivars. COP values were used: to (1) quantify germ plasm sources and their contributions to the North American hard spring wheat gene pool; (2) measure changes in genetic diversity through time; and (3) identify major groupings of related cultivars. Landraces and local cultivars that contributed to the formation of the gene pool were: spring wheat (64%), winter wheat (16%), T. turgidum var. durum L. (10%), and T. turgidum var. emmer L. (8%). 'Fife', 'Hard Red Calcutta', and 'Turkey Red' accounted for 18%, 13%, and 8%, respectively, of the hard spring wheat origins. 'Era' and 'Butte' in the US, and 'Neepawa' and 'HY 320' in Canada, were the most commonly used named parents of cultivars released from 1981 to 1991. Both Canada and US had the greatest level of similarity among new cultivar releases in the 1930s (Canada: r=0.39, US: r=0.34). Genetic similarity in the US declined to r=0.14 in the 1940s and remained relatively constant thereafter. Similarity among released Canadian cultivars remained relatively high until the 1970s when the introduction of new market classes resulted in a 50% reduction in genetic similarity to approximately the same level of similarity found in the US. Cluster analysis was used to group cultivars released after 1941 into 13 clusters of similar genotypes. The cultivar clusters may have value for the stratified sampling of spring wheat germ plasm or in identifying diverse germ plasm for intermating.