Gene Effects for Resistance to Kernel Shattering in a Barley Cross1

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Abstract
Yield losses from shattering have necessitated the development of shatter resistant cultivars, and breeding procedures depend on the type of gene action conditioning the trait under study. Shatter resistance was measured in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) as the force required to free a spikelet from the rachis. Measurements were made on single random plants of four generations representing six populations (parents, F1, F2, and single backcrosses) from a cross between two parental lines. All populations were grown near Bozeman, Mont. in both 1968 and 1969. In both years, dominance for shattering susceptibility as well as additive gene effects separating the parents were detected. In 1969, a significant additive ✕ additive epistatic effect was detected, and the dominance effect was more than twice as large as it was in 1968. These results suggest that the inheritance of shattering resistance is complex and the expression of gene effects appears to be sensitive to environmental (year) conditions. However, because shatter resistance is recessive and because only the additive ✕ additive epistatic component was significant, in this cross direct selection for shattering resistance in early generations should be effective. More crosses must be evaluated before a general breeding scheme can be proposed.

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