The objective of this study was to identify promising wheat genotypes from the IAPAR breeding program for crosses by multivariate techniques. Measures of dissimilarity between genotypes were obtained from multicategoric variables. To identify clusters, Tocher optimization and UPGMA were used. The genotypes were divided into five diverging groups, indicating a wide genetic base of the wheat breeding program of the Agricultural Research Institute of Paraná (IAPAR). As indicated by the genetic distance, crosses involving the cultivars IPR 85 and IPR 118 seem to be the most promising to increase genetic gains in both grain and flour quality as well as for agronomic parameters.
Triticum aestivum L.; genetic improvement; multivariate analysis
