Effects of pre-anthesis moisture stress on floret sterility in some semi-dwarf and conventional height spring wheat cultivars

Abstract

. 1999. Effects of pre-anthesis moisture stress on floret sterility in some semi-dwarf and conventional height spring wheat cultivars. Can. J. Plant Sci. 79: 515-520. This study was conducted to investigate the response of some semi-dwarf Canada Prairie Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) and conventional height (tall) cultivars of Canada Western Red Spring wheat to moisture stress at the booting stage. The effect on the frequency of sterile florets was determined in the two height groups. Drought tolerance was investigated using the electrolyte leakage test. The association of floret sterility with pollen viability under moisture stress conditions was also investigated. When fully watered, several of the semidwarf cultivars had a lower frequency of sterile florets compared with the tall cultivars. Moisture stress increased the frequency of sterile florets in both semi-dwarf and tall wheat cultivars. As moisture stress increased, the resulting sterility was significantly higher in semidwarf cultivars, relative to the tall cultivars (P ≤ 0.01). Comparisons between floret sterility and desiccation injury (estimated by electrolyte leakage tests) suggest that a high degree of floret sterility was not associated with lower levels of desiccation tolerance. Cultivar differences in pollen fertility and for electrolyte leakage in response to moisture stress were evident, but were distributed independently of height class. 515-520. L'objet des présents travaux était de scruter le comportement de quelques cultivars demi-nains ou à paille de hauteur classique de blé de printemps roux des prairies canadiennes à l'égard d'un stress hydrique survenant au stade du gonflement. On s'intéressait particulièrement à l'effet sur la fréquence des fleurs stériles. La tolérance à la sécheresse était examinée au moyen du test des pertes d'électrolytes. Nous observions aussi le lien éventuel entre la stérilité des fleurs et la viabilité du pollen en situations de stress hydrique. Bien pourvus en eau, plusieurs des cultivars demi-nains manifestaient une moindre fréquence de fleurs stériles que les cultivars à paille haute. En revanche, le stress hydrique entraînait l'accroissement de la fréquence, tant chez les cultivars demi-nains que chez ceux à paille haute. À mesure que s'intensifiait le stress, le taux de stérilité était significativement plus élevé chez les cultivars demi-nains (P ≤ 0,01). Les comparaisons entre la stérilité des fleurs et les dégâts par dessiccation (estimés selon le test des pertes d'électrolytes) portent à conclure qu'un fort degré de stérilité des fleurs n'était pas lié à de moindres niveaux de tolérance à la dessication. Il y avait certes, des différences variétales pour la fertilité pollinique et pour les pertes d'électrolytes en conditions de stress hydrique, mais leur distribution était indépendante de la hauteur de la paille.

Identification and characterization of quantitative trait loci related to lodging resistance and associated traits in bread wheat

“…Lodging can decrease wheat grain yield by 4-20% (Briggs et al 1999). 30% (Pinthus 1973) or even 40% (Easson et al 1993), and decrease quality.…”

Genetic dissection of grain yield and physical grain quality in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under water-limited environments

“…A wide range of traits that support grain yield and its components have been identified in a variety of different environments, with yield commonly viewed as a function of grain number, grain size, the efficiency of the use of available water and traits affecting these components (Passioura 1977). In water-limited environments, these traits have included water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) (Blum et al 1994;Rattey et al 2009), leaf glaucousness (Richards et al 1986), transpiration efficiency (Condon and Hall 1997) and spikelet fertility (Briggs et al 1999). However, the extent of variation for these traits within locally adapted germplasm has not been studied extensively in many cases, hence the value of each trait for grain yield within these target environments is poorly understood.…”

Control of Abscisic Acid Catabolism and Abscisic Acid Homeostasis Is Important for Reproductive Stage Stress Tolerance in Cereals1

“…In maize (Zea mays), drought stress at anthesis causes ovary abortion and reduction in kernel number (Westgate and Boyer, 1985). In self-fertilizing cereals, such as rice (Oryza sativa), wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), and grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), successful pollen development is critical for grain production, and abiotic stresses interfering with the earliest stages of pollen formation lead to massive losses in grain number (Bingham, 1966;Satake and Hayase, 1970;Nishiyama, 1984;Saini et al, 1984;Briggs et al, 1999aBriggs et al, , 1999bMatsui and Omasa, 2002;Abiko et al, 2005;Jagadish et al, 2007;Jain et al, 2007;Endo et al, 2009). Stressinduced pollen sterility is not restricted to monocots, with reports that it also occurs in dicot plants (Aloni et al, 2001;Kim et al, 2001;Karni and Aloni, 2002;Pressman et al, 2002;Ghanem et al, 2009).…”