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Temperature Requirements for Growth of Grass-clump Dwarf Wheats and the Inheritance of the Trait¹

Grass clump dwarf wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell.) are characterized by their reduced stature, increased tiller number, and frequent lack of reproductive growth. Three types of grass-clump dwarf wheat plants occur in the progeny of crosses of normal wheat cultivars. Temperature has been shown to have a dramatic effect on the growth of the most severe dwarf but its effect has not been investigated with the less severe dwarf types. On the other hand, the inheritance of the trait has been most studied with the less severe dwarf types. In this study the temperature requirement for normal growth of the three types of grass-clump dwarfs and the inheritance of the trait was determined.

Crosses of several common wheat cultivars were made and the F₁'s were grown in controlled environmental growth cabinets under conditions of continuous 16,146 to 18,299 lux incandescent/fluorescent illumination and constant temperature regimes of 11, 16, 21, and 26 C.

In general, type 1 dwarfs grew normally at temperatures of 26 C or higher, type 2 dwarfs grew normally at 21 C or higher, and type 3 dwarfs grew normally at 16 C or higher. At temperatures below these values, the characteristic grass-clump dwarf morphology was displayed in plants possessing a dwarfing genotype.

Conventional genetic analysis of F₂ populations and F₃ lines showed that a three complementary dominant gene system adequately explained and predicted the origin of grass-clump dwarfs in inter-class wheat crosses.

Key Words: Triticum aestivum L. em Thell. • Growth habit • Reproductive development • Tillering

² Graduate student, professor, and associate professor, Dep. of Biology, Queen's Univ., Kingston, Ont. K7L 3N6. (Present address of P.B,E. McVetty: Dep. of Plant Sci., Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2.

Received for publication November 26, 1975.