The golden ears of bread wheat have long been regarded as a symbol of global food security since the dawn of civilization. However, the combined pressures of climate change, decreasing arable land, and a rapidly growing population pose significant challenges to wheat production. In response, wheat breeders are actively engaged in exploring various approaches to enhance crop productivity while minimizing environmental impact. Among these, the stay-green trait has emerged as a promising characteristic, offering improved resilience and yield stability. The stay-green trait, allows crops to maintain chlorophyll levels and sustain photosynthetic activity over extended periods, thereby maximizing the grain filling duration and ensuring yield stability, especially under stress conditions. This study investigates the genetic architecture of the stay-green trait in wheat by evaluating a diverse germplasm that includes Landraces, Green Revolution, Post-Green Revolution, and elite cultivars. The morphophysiological traits assessed were chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence, NDVI, plant height, tiller number, spike length, spikelets per spike, thousand kernel weight, grain yield, and biological yield. A Genome-Wide Association Study was performed using three statistical models: General Linear Model, Mixed Linear Model, and Fixed and Random Model Circulating Probability Unification. The analysis revealed significant genotypic variation and strong positive correlations between stay-green indicators and grain yield. The GWAS identified 83 marker-trait associations across 48 genomic loci. Gene annotation revealed 36 candidate genes connected with stress tolerance and chloroplast development underlying the identified loci. These insights provide a foundation for future breeding efforts targeting the stay-green trait to enhance yield stability under adverse environmental conditions.