Interrelationships between stem and ear development in winter wheat: the effects of a Norin 10 dwarfing gene, Gai/Rht2

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Abstract
Summary: A field and a glasshouse experiment were carried out to assess in winter wheat genotypes the interrelationships between stem and ear development, and to relate these to number of grains and yield. Capelle-Desprez (gai/rht2) and Hobbit ‘s’ (Gai/Rht2) were used together with four F4 lines from the cross between them. Two of the lines were homozygous for gai/rht2 and two lines homozygous for Gai/Rht2. Within each pair of homozygous lines there was a contrast between a tall and a short genotype.There were no consistent differences in shoot apex morphogenesis between the genotypes, and, in general, similar numbers of spikelets and floret primordia were initiated in all genotypes. This contrasts with the hypothesis that genotypes based on Norin 10 (Gai/Rht2) have a fundamentally different pattern of ear morphogenesis. The main differences between genotypes were in dry-matter partitioning to stem and ear prior to anthesis and these were associated more consistently with the dwarfing gene than with height per se. Gai/Rht2 genotypes partitioned more dry matter to the ear during its development and less to the stem and this was reflected in greater ear weight at anthesis, more fertile florets and grains per spikelet, a higher harvest index and higher grain yield than the gai/rht2 genotypes. Although similar numbers of floret primordia were initiated in all genotypes, assimilate partitioning during development determined the proportion which developed into fertile florets at anthesis.