Breeding spring wheat varieties carrying semi-dwarfing genes is of interest, as these varieties experience less lodging, have a higher harvest index (HI), and in some cases higher grain yield and quality. The Rht18 semi-dwarf gene was back-crossed into the CWRS variety “CDC Utmost” from durum wheat and the resulting Near Isogenic Lines (NILs) were evaluated over a period of four years for potential linkage drag effects on a number of agronomic and quality traits. The short NILs were, on average, 15 cm shorter than their tall counterparts. The three stem internodes that were measured in this study, were all shorter in the short NILs.

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