WHEAT BREEDING PROGRAMME: OBJECTIVES AND STAGES

High grain yield, resistance to major diseases (rust, smut, bunt, Fusarium), tolerance to abiotic stresses (drought, salt, heat), early flowering and maturity, reaction to high fertilizer doses, dwarf and lodging resistance, and so on are the main challenges for wheat breeders and geneticists (Salam et al., 2018). Wheat can develop in a variety of climates, from irrigated temperate to dry to high rainfall zones, and from warm humid to dry cold (Sallam et al., 2015). As a result, solving the issue and establishing goals are critical components of every wheat breeding program's progress. The presence of genetic diversity is critical for breeding programmes to improve wheat crop for target traits. For a good breeding programme, Baenziger et al., (2016) identified five key steps. A successful breeding programme requires each stage to be completed.