The Nature and Duration of Gene Action for Vernalization Response in Wheat

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Abstract
Four near-isogenic lines of wheat were studied to determine the nature and duration of gene action for vernalization response under 2 weekly vernalization periods from 0 to 10 weeks. With time to floral initiation the Vrn 1 Vrn 2 and Vrn 1 vrn 2 genotypes showed a cumulative response whereby days to floral initiation decreased as the period of vernalization increased. The vrn 1 Vrn 2 and the vrn 1 vrn 2 genotypes also showed a cumulative response for periods of vernalization less than 6 weeks for the former and 8 weeks for the latter. Days to ear emergence was closely related to days to floral initiation due to the constancy of the period from floral initiation to ear emergence across all lines and treatments and, consequently, they gave similar measures of the relative strength of vernalization response. It appears that genes for vernalization response cease to act after floral initiation. The implications of these findings to breeding for increased adaptability and yield in wheat are discussed.