Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science 9(2): 206-215 (2024) https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2024.090202 This content is available online at AESA Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science Journal homepage: journals.aesacademy.org/index.php/aaes e-ISSN: 2456-6632 ARTICLE HISTORY ABSTRACT Received: 02 February 2024 Revised received: 28 March 2024 Accepted: 18 April 2024 A field research was carried out at the National Wheat Research Program (NWRP) in Bhaira- hawa, Nepal in 2022 to investigate elite durum wheat genotypes and key traits contributing to grain yield. The experiment was performed in an alpha lattice design with two replications. Thirty distinct durum wheat genotypes were assessed, focusing on fourteen quantitative traits including days to booting, days to heading, days to maturity, plant height, spike length, pedun- cle length, number of tillers per square meter, number of spikes per square meter, number of grains per spike, grain weight per spike, thousand kernel weight, grain yield, biomass yield, chlorophyll content. The studied genotypes were grown under irrigated condition. Genotype NL1779 attained the highest grain yield of 3828 kg/ha, followed by NL1769 (3784 kg/ha), NL1772 (3726 kg/ha), NL1789 (3640 kg/ha) and NL1784 (3570 kg/ha). Principal components analysis revealed that eight traits were the major loadings on the first two principal compo- nents that describe 53.4% of the total morphological variance at irrigated condition. Cluster analysis grouped the different genotypes into four clusters, with each cluster showing varia- tion in performance for different traits under irrigated conditions. Cluster III is characterized by genotypes exhibiting the highest grain yield, biomass yield, spike length, number of grains per spike, and number of spikes per square meter. Notably, the high-yielding genotypes NL1779, NL1769, NL1772, NL1789, NL1784, and NL1773 identified within this cluster could serve as potential candidates for inclusion in the national breeding program. These superior genotypes could be recommended for irrigated environment after further evaluation. Inte- grating them into national breeding programs offers an opportunity for genetic improvement, contributing to establishing a robust durum wheat production system in Nepal, meeting the growing demand for durum wheat products while promoting dietary diversity and sustainable agriculture. ©2024 Agriculture and Environmental Science Academy Keywords Cluster analysis Correlation analysis Durum wheat Genotype evaluation Principal component analysis Citation of this article: Pant, K. R., Pandey, D., Adhikari, U., Nainabasti, A., Chaudhary, S., Bastola, B. R., Yadav, R. P., Poudel, B. P., Bista, M., & Raut, S. K. (2024). Performance evaluation of advanced durum wheat genotypes under irrigated condition at Bhairahawa, Nepal. Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science, 9(3), 207-215, https://dx.doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2024.090202 Performance evaluation of advanced durum wheat genotypes under irrigated condition at Bhairahawa, Nepal Khem Raj Pant 1* , Deepak Pandey 1 , Upama Adhikari 2 , Anjal Nainabasti 2 , Srijana Chaudhary 3 , Biswash Raj Bastola 4 , Rajendra Prasad Yadav 1 , Bishnu Prasad Poudel 1 , Mamata Bista 1 and Sanjay Kumar Raut 3 1 National Wheat Research Program, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Bhairahawa, NEPAL 2 Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, NEPAL 3 Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Far Western University (FWU), Tikapur, Kailali, NEPAL 4 National Rice Research Program, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Hardinath, NEPAL * Corresponding author’s E-mail: pantkhemraj07@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a globally significant staple cereal crop, serving as a primary food source for millions worldwide (Khalid et al., 2022). Its paramount importance stems from its nutrient-rich grains, which are valuable sources of protein, essential minerals (copper, magnesium, zinc, iron, phosphorus), vitamins (riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, alpha-tocopherol), and ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE