Instability of yield in faba bean is partly caused by drought susceptibility. Four sets with 10‐19 faba bean genotypes each were evaluated in multilocal field trials between 1992 and 1996. Stress occurred as natural drought in one experiment and as artificial terminal drought in three experiments. Artificial drought was induced by rain shelters; the control treatment was irrigated. Tolerance was assessed as the ratio of yield under drought (Yd) to well‐watered yield (Yw). Highly significant variances between genotypes occurred; heritability of tolerance was 0.51 < h2 <0.88. Exotic (North African. Latin American) genotypes were more tolerant than adapted material. Correlations between Yw and Yd were 0.77** < r <0.97**, and variance of Yd was less than one‐third of the variance of Yw. Drought tolerance was negatively correlated with Yd (‐0.41 < r < ‐0.22). Relative reduction of plant height due to drought was a promising trait to improve drought tolerance indirectly in two sets. The prospects of improving Yd are good: heritability was 0.68 < h2 < 0.86. Genetic improvement of drought tolerance also seems feasible. A specific cross was proposed to create improved material.

Twelve parental lines of faba beans and 27 F1 hybrids derived from them were field‐tested under a dry and a well‐watered treatment, at two German locations (Göttingen, Hohenheim) in two years (1995, 1996). Drought was artificially induced using rain shelters from anthesis until maturity. Data were collected on yield under dry (Yd) and well‐watered (Yw) conditions. Drought tolerance was assessed as Yd/Yw. The mid‐parent heterosis was significant for Yd and Yw, but not for Yd/Yw. Relative heterosis for Yd (52.0%) was greater than for Yw (39.3%). Parental heritability was greater for Yw (0.86) than for Yd (0.61). However, it was similar for both traits in F1 hybrids (0.65 and 0.66). Principal component analysis showed that F1 hybrids exhibited the same pattern of adaptation as their parents. The heritability of drought tolerance was 0.48 in F1 hybrids and 0.70 in parents. Attention should be paid to its negative correlation with yield. Several hybrids combined high tolerance, a favourable pattern of adaptation and appropriate performance.

Faba beans (Vicia faba L.) represent an essential source of food protein for many people in Sudan, especially those who cannot afford to buy animal meat. The demand for faba bean seeds is greatly increased in recent years, and consequently its production area was extended southward where the climate is marginally suitable. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate seed yield and nutritional quality of five faba bean inbred lines grown under marginal environmental conditions of Sudan. The inbred lines have considerable (P ≤ 0.05) variability in yield and yield components, and seed chemical composition. The mean carbohydrate content was very high (501.1 g kg−1) and negatively correlated with seed yield, whereas the average protein content was relatively high (253.1 g kg−1) and positively correlated with seed yield. Globulin was the significant fraction (613.5 g kg−1protein) followed by albumin (200.2 g kg−1protein). Biplot analysis indicates that inbred lines Hudeiba/93‐S5 and Ed‐damar‐S5 outscore other lines in terms of seed yield and nutritional quality. This study demonstrates that Hudeiba/93‐S5 and Ed‐damar‐S5 are useful candidates in faba bean breeding program to terminate the protein deficiency malnutrition and provide healthy and nutritious meal for people living in subtropical areas.

Identification and exploration of the genetic architecture of traits related to yield, quality, and drought and heat tolerance is important for yield and quality improvement of wheat through marker-assisted selection. One hundred and ninety-two spring wheat genotypes were tested at two heat-stress locations in Sudan (Wad Medani and Dongula), a drought stress site in Morocco (Marchouch) and a site with high yield potential in Egypt (Sids) in replicated trials during the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 cropping seasons. A total of 10,577 single nucleotide polymorphism markers identified from the 15 K wheat SNP assay were used in a genome-wide association (GWA) study and genomic prediction for 16 phenotypic traits related to yield, quality and drought and heat tolerance. Significant marker-trait associations were detected across GWAS models for all traits. Most detected marker-trait associations (MTAs) were environment-specific, signifying the presence of high quantitative trait loci-by-environment (QTL x E) interaction. Chromosome arm 5AL had significant multi-model MTAs for grain yield and yield-related traits at the heat-stress locations. Highly significant QTLs were detected on chromosome 2D for waxiness. Homoeologous group 2 and 6 chromosomes were with significant MTAs for grain protein content, gluten content, alveograph strength and Zeleny sedimentation test while chromosome arm 3BL was significant for both Z and W traits. Genomic prediction analysis with ridge regression-best linear unbiased prediction model estimated the breeding values of the studied traits with prediction accuracies ranging from 0.16 for leaf rolling to 0.72 for peduncle length. The identified QTLs could be targeted for marker-assisted selection or further studies aimed at fine mapping and cloning the causative genes and detecting favorable haplotypes with positive effects for agronomic, physiological or quality-related traits.

many species including sorghum (Ayana and Bekele, 1999). However, morphological variation does not reli-Assessment of genetic variability in crops has a strong impact on ably reflect the real genetic variation because of genoplant breeding and conservation of genetic resources. It is particularly useful in the characterization of individuals, accessions, and cultivars type-environment interactions and the largely unknown in determining duplications in germplasm collections and for selecting 2001). Here we report on the use of SSRs for molecular