Context. Untapped wheat germplasm is conserved globally in genebanks. Evaluating it for grain quality and yield will help achieve nutritional and food security.

Aims. We aimed to evaluate the Indian National Genebank bread wheat core collection for grain quality, phenology and yield, to identify potential donor germplasm.

Methods. 1485 accessions were grown at three locations in India during winter 2015–2016 to evaluate test weight, grain protein content, sedimentation value (SV), days to spike emergence, days to maturity, grain yield and thousand-grain weight (TGW).

Key results. Best linear unbiased estimates indicated mean protein of 13.3%, 14.7%, and 13.0% and yield of 73.0 g/m, 70.9 g/m and 66.6 g/m at Ludhiana, Pune, and Varanasi locations, respectively. The SV ranged from 26.6–65.6 mL and 17.7–66.6 mL at the Ludhiana and Pune locations, respectively. The top 10 accessions were identified for all the studied traits. Six high protein accessions, with consistent protein of more than 15% along with moderate Thousand-grain and test weights were further validated and assessed for stability across environments. Grain protein content was correlated negatively with thousand-grain weight and yield, but positively with days to maturity and spike emergence.

Conclusions. The identified accessions with high trait values could be used in future breeding programmes to develop high yielding biofortified cultivars to address protein malnutrition and also cultivars with suitable end-product quality.

Implications. The diversity in a core collection can be exploited to develop modern high yielding bread wheat cultivars with higher grain protein content and suitable end-product quality.

Context. With growing World population, the demand for higher-yield crops becomes more evident. The genetic diversity, which is crucial for breeding superior cultivars, can be shown by using molecular techniques such as start codon targeted (SCoT) markers.

Aims. The motivation of this study was to unfold the genetic diversity of Turkish germplasm.

Methods. Ninety-four pea samples (90 landraces, 3 pea breeding materials, and 1 registered variety), were assessed for their diversity by using SCoT markers.

Key results. Eight SCoT markers produced a total of 84 scorable bands, of which 74 (88.1%) were polymorphic. There was an average of 9.25 polymorphic bands per primer. The range of diversity indices evaluated, such as polymorphism information content (0.13–0.38), effective numbers of alleles (1.22–1.69), Shannon’s diversity index (0.21–0.54), and gene diversity (0.13–0.38), showed great genetic variation in the germplasm under this study. STRUCTURE algorithm suggested the presence of two populations. Polymorphism percentage was 87% and 74%, whereas fixation index was 0.21 and 0.01 for population A and population B respectively. According to analysis of molecular variance, most of the difference was found to lie within population (99%) rather than between populations (1%). In contrast, principal coordinates analysis suggested separation into three populations.

Conclusions. The Nei’s genetic distance of 94 Turkish pea samples revealed that Antalya_2 and Canakkale_2 are genetically the most diverse and can be utilised as parental lines for breeding purposes.

Implications. The wide range of pea varieties found in the Turkish germplasm can serve as a valuable genetic resource for the overall pea breeding efforts.

Context. HW-3 acts as a pyruvate dehydrogenase herbicide for weed control. However, its biological efficacy against weeds, as well as its safety concerning gramineous crops, remains poorly understood.

Aims. The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of HW-3 against common weeds in corn fields and identify the safety of HW-3 on different cultivars and leaf stages of corn.

Methods. This study determined the toxicity of HW-3 to common weeds in cornfields under greenhouse conditions through whole plant bioassay. The study also determined the mechanism of action and selectivity principle of HW-3 through in vitro enzyme activity measurements.

Key results. When HW-3 was applied at 150 g of active ingredient ha⁻¹, the fresh weight inhibition rates of the broad-leaved weeds Eclipta prostrata, Ludwigia prostrata, Ammannia baccifera, Ammannia auriculata, Amaranthus retroflexus, Portulaca oleracea, Abutilon theophrasti, and Cyperus rotundus in the corn field were all above 90%. The selectivity indices of HW-3 in common corn, sweet corn, and glutinous corn were 4.29, 4.22, and 4.98, respectively, indicating the safety of HW-3 across different corn types. The concentration causing 50% inhibition (IC₅₀ value) of pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in A. theophrasti treated with HW-3 was 287.94 mg L⁻¹, and the IC₅₀ value of PDH activity in corn was much greater than 1000 mg L⁻¹. This indicates that HW-3 is a selective pyruvate dehydrogenase inhibitor.

Conclusions. HW-3 has potential use for the control of broad-leaved weeds in cornfields and is safe for different types and leaf stages of corn.

Implications. This research provides a reference for the commercial application of HW-3.