The Effects of Floret Sterilization on Grain Number and Grain Weight in Wheat Ears

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Abstract
This paper describes the effects of sterilizing certain florets on the development of others within the ears of wheat, cultivar Maris Ranger. Sterilization of all the florets in spikelets 2, 4, 6, and 8 (numbered from the base of the ear upwards) led to more grain setting and greater grain growth in the untreated spikelets. These compensatory increases were insufficient to prevent a depression in the yield of grain per ear. Sterilization of more than one of the basal florets of spikelet 8 led to a more frequent setting of the grain in the distal florets on that spikelet and to the centrally positioned grain becoming heavier. The physiological basis for the inhibitory influences of the older and developing grain on the unfertilized florets and younger grain is discussed.

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