Duration and Rate of Development Phases in Wheat in Two Environments

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Abstract
Six cultivars of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. vulgare L. amend. Thell.) of diverse climatic origin and different developmental patterns were studied under two environments, (a growth room and an outdoors sowing) for the duration and rate of completion of their developmental phases. The need for vernalization in the cultivar Cappelle Desprez substantially increased the length of the vegetative phase, particularly in the growth room. Large differences in the duration of reproductive initiation and stem elongation phases between Cappelle Desprez and the other cultivars in the growth room sowing suggests an influence of veralization beyond the vegetative phase. Differences between the two environments influenced the duration of all phases of development, giving pronounced between-cultivar variation in both the stem elongation and ripening phases. Rates of reproductive initiation and stem elongation for the cultivars, within and between the two environments appeared to be largely independent. The rate of spikelet initiation was significantly decreased in the growth room compared with the outdoor sowing. The duration of the phases of development within each cultivar appeared to be independent of each other, indicating the possibility for adjusting the rate, or duration, of a phase of development comparatively free of a compensatory change in the rate, or duration, of other phases.