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Nitrate Reductase Assays as a Prediction Test for Crosses and Lines in Spring Wheat¹

The in vitro and in vivo nitrate reductase (NR) activity of four high and four low yielding hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) parents and the highest and lowest yielding F₇ lines from each of 25 crosses were determined under growth chamber and field conditions. Ranking of genotypes was more consistent between the two sampling dates in the field or between growth chamber samples and field samples for the in vitro assay than the in vivo assay. Except for the parental seedling activities, the in vitro and in vivo activities were not significantly correlated.

The mid-parent values for NR activity significantly predicted those crosses that produced a higher frequency of high yielding lines. However, the highest yielding line within a cross could not be differentiated from the lowest yielding line on the basis of NR activity by either assay method. Also, the NR activity (in vitro and in vivo) of the lines from all crosses was not significantly correlated with yield of grain or grain protein. The relationship between in vitro NR activity and yield of grain or grain protein was improved if crosses involving the more diverse genotypes were deleted, but significant relationships generally were not obtained. The grain protein yields and reduced N partitioning data indicated that the NR values obtained in this experiment were not closely related to the genotypic ability to accumulate reduced N under field conditions. The reason for this remains unclear.

Key Words: N metabolism • Selection criteria • Grain yield • Grain protein

² Associate professors of agronomy, Agronomy Dep., North Dakota State Univ., Fargo, ND 58102.

Received for publication April 30, 1977.

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