Genetic variability and advance under four selection procedures in wheat pedigree breeding programme.

Four methods of generation advance (SPS, SSD, BP and MMS) were compared in F3 and F4 generations. In the F3 generation, the SPS and SSD methods of generation advance proved superior to the BP and MMS methods for grain yield per plant and for at least one of the yield component traits. The F3 SSD population did not differ significantly from the F3 SPS for any of the traits. However, the F3 SSD population retained more range and cv for different traits than with other methods of generation advance. F4 progenies derived from F3 SSD population were significantly superior for grain yield than lines derived from the other three F3 populations. The MMS method of generation advance proved useful for increasing the 1,000-grain weight for which initial selection was made.