Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T20:51:58.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of selection for number of ears on the yield and water economy of winter wheat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

P. Innes ,
R. D. Blackwell ,
R. B. Austin  and
Margaret A. Ford
P. Innes
Affiliation:
Plant Breeding Institute, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 2LQ
R. D. Blackwell
Affiliation:
Plant Breeding Institute, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 2LQ
R. B. Austin
Affiliation:
Plant Breeding Institute, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 2LQ
Margaret A. Ford
Affiliation:
Plant Breeding Institute, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 2LQ
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Selections for high (H) and low (L) number of ears were made from crosses between three pairs of winter wheat varieties. By the F5 generation there were consistent, heritable differences between H and L selections in each cross. In an irrigated trial the H lines outyielded the L lines even in one experiment where compensatory increases occurred in the weight of grain per ear of the L lines. Drought for the 5 weeks before an thesis reduced the final number of ears of the H lines by 14% but did not affect the final number of ears of the L lines. This reduction in the final number of ears of H lines resulted in them being outyielded by L lines by 8%. Drought from anthesis to maturity did not significantly reduce grain yields of either H or L lines below their values under full irrigation.

When fully irrigated, the evapotranspiration of H and L lines from 1 April until maturity was approximately 360 mm. The drought before anthesis reduced water use to about 320 mm, there being no difference between selections in total water use by the crops during this period. However, the L lines extracted significantly more water from the soil below a depth of 0.9 m during this drought than the H lines, and this appeared to make the L lines less susceptible to drought at this stage. Water use by the crop during the late drought could not be reliably estimated because by this time water was being extracted from below the level of the neutron probe access tubes.

It is concluded that in an environment where a pre-anthesis drought is unlikely to occur, varieties with high ear-bearing capacity may give the best yields. Selection for types showing a limited tillering capacity may prove to be an effective compromise in regions with erratic rainfall where pre-anthesis droughts can occur.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 97 , Issue 3 , December 1981 , pp. 523 - 532
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Austin, R. B. & Blackwell, R. D. (1980). Edge and neighbour effects in cereal yield trials. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 94, 731–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, R. B. & Jones, H. G. (1975). The physiology of wheat. In Report of the Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge for 1974, pp. 20–73.Google Scholar
Beranek, V. (1980). The dynamics of tillering in spring wheat – total tillering rate and proportion of different tillers in a spring wheat stand. Rostlina Vyroba 26, 191–199.Google Scholar
Day, A. D. & Intalap, S. (1970). Some effects of soil moisture stress on growth of wheat. Agronomy Journal 62, 27–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donald, C. M. (1963). Competition among crop and pasture plants. Advances in Agronomy 15, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donald, C. M. (1968). The breeding of crop ideotypes. Euphytica 17, 385–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finlay, K. W. & Wilkinson, G. N. (1963). The analysis of adaptation in a plant-breeding programme. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 14, 742–754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, R. A. (1970). Statistical Methods for Research Workers. New York and London: Collier-Macmillan.Google Scholar
Innes, P. & Blackwell, R. D. (1981). The effect of drought on the water use and yield of two spring wheat genotypes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 96, 603–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, H. G. & Kirby, E. J. M. (1977). Effects of manipulation of number of tillers and water supply on grain yield in barley. Journal of A gricultura Science, Cambridge 88, 391–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keim, D. L. (1974). Adaptability of winter wheat cultivars to dryland conditions and their response to water stress. Ph.D. thesis, Oregon State University, U.S.A.Google Scholar
Kirby, E. J. M. (1970). Evapotranspiration from barley grown at different plant densities. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 75, 445–450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Musick, J. T. & Dusek, D. A. (1980). Planting date and water deficit effects on development and yield of irrigated winter wheat. Agronomy Journal 72, 45–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nerson, H. (1980). Effects of population density and number of ears on wheat yield and its components. Field Crop Research 3, 225–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelton, W. L. (1969). Influence of low seeding rates on wheat yield in Southwestern Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 49, 607–614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penman, H. L. (1948). Natural evaporation from open water, bare soil and grass. Proceedings of the Royal Society A 193, 120–145.Google Scholar
Puckridge, D. W. (1962). The effect of competition among wheat plants sown at a wide range of densities, with particular reference to light and leaf area. B. Agric. Sci. thesis, University of Adelaide.Google Scholar
Rawson, H. M. & Donald, C. M. (1969). The absorption and distribution of nitrogen after floret initiation in wheat. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 20, 799–808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar