Inheritance of grain protein concentration, grain yield, and related traits in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Genome ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 857-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. McKendry ◽  
P. B. E. McVetty ◽  
L. E. Evans

The inheritance of grain protein concentration (GPC), grain protein yield (GPY), total nitrogen at maturity (TNM), nitrogen harvest index (NHI), grain yield (GY), total dry matter (TDM), and harvest index (HI) were studied in two spring wheat crosses, 'HY521/UM684' and 'HY521/Sinton' in 1985 at Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Analysis of variance of parental performance by location indicated that the parents differed significantly for all traits measured and that genotype by location interactions accounted for less than 8% of the observed variation. Generation means analyses indicated that all traits were primarily under genetic control in both crosses with additive gene action being significant for all traits studied. Dominance gene action was detected for all traits but the degree and direction was both trait and genotype specific. Additive × additive epistasis was significant for GPY, TNM, GY, and TDM, but again, was genotype specific. Variance analyses indicated a large genetic component of the variation relative to the environmental component for all traits studied. F2 broad sense heritabilities were moderately high for GPC (0.57–0.76), GPY (0.57–0.76), TNM (0.56–0.73), NHI (0.39–0.59), GY (0.51–0.70), TDM (0.65–0.79) and HI (0.50–0.67). Narrow sense heritabilities were moderately high for GPC (0.50–0.75) and HI (0.49–0.58) but were somewhat lower for GPY (0.26–0.48), TNM (0.27–0.38), NHI (0.24–0.38), GY (0.27–0.39) and TDM (0.32–0.65). Implications of the results of this study on breeding for simultaneous improvement in GPC and GY are discussed.Key words: bread wheat, heritability, grain protein yield, total nitrogen at maturity, nitrogen harvest index, total dry matter, harvest index, breeding strategies.

1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATRICK M. McMULLAN ◽  
PETER B. E. McVETTY ◽  
AILEEN A. URQUHART

Dry matter and nitrogen (nitrate and reduced) accumulation and redistribution in four different spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes grown at field density were studied on a plant part and whole plant basis over the growing season for 2 yr. The four cultivars displayed significant differences in plant part and total plant dry matter, harvest index, nitrogen content, nitrogen concentration, nitrogen harvest index and nitrogen translocated values at most sample dates in both years. Grain yield was highly correlated with dry matter accumulation (r = 0.88**), while grain nitrogen content was highly correlated with plant nitrogen content (r = 0.95**). Nitrogen harvest index and plant nitrogen content were correlated at anthesis (r = 0.61**), while, as a consequence of this, the amount of nitrogen translocated was highly correlated with plant nitrogen content at anthesis (r = 0.87**). Nitrogen harvest index and harvest index were highly correlated (r = 0.83**), indicating that they may be related processes. Since plant dry matter and plant nitrogen content were not significantly correlated, it should be possible to select simultaneously for these traits to effect grain yield and grain nitrogen content increases on a per-plant basis. Further research will have to be done to determine how these changes will relate to grain nitrogen concentrations and grain yield per unit area.Key words: Wheat, dry matter, nitrogen, yield, protein, Triticum aestivum L.


2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. RUSKE ◽  
M. J. GOODING ◽  
S. A. JONES

Field experiments were conducted over 3 years to assess the effect of a triazole fungicide programme, and additions of strobilurin fungicides to it, on nitrogen uptake, accumulation and partitioning in a range of winter wheat cultivars. Commensurate with delayed senescence, fungicide programmes, particularly when including strobilurins, improved grain yield through improvements in both crop biomass and harvest index, although the relationship with green area duration of the flag leaf (GFLAD) depended on year and in some cases, cultivar. In all years fungicide treatments significantly increased the amount of nitrogen in the above-ground biomass, the amount of nitrogen in the grain and the nitrogen harvest index. All these effects could be linearly related to the fungicide effect on GFLAD. These relationships occasionally interacted with cultivar but there was no evidence that fungicide mode of action affected the relationship between GFLAD and yield of nitrogen in the grain. Fungicide treatments significantly reduced the amount of soil mineral N at harvest and when severe disease had been controlled, the net remobilization of N from the vegetation to the grain after anthesis. Fungicide maintained the filling of grain with both dry matter and nitrogen. The proportionate accumulation of nitrogen in the grain was later than that of dry matter and this difference was greater when fungicide had been applied. Effects of fungicide on grain protein concentration and its relationship with GFLAD were inconsistent over year and cultivar. There were several instances where grain protein concentration was unaffected despite large (1·5 t/ha) increases in grain yield following fungicide use. Dilution of grain protein concentration following fungicide use, when it did occur, was small compared with what would be predicted by adoption of other yield increasing techniques such as the selection of high yielding cultivars (based on currently available cultivars) or by growing wheat in favourable climates.


1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 965-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. CLARKE ◽  
C. A. CAMPBELL ◽  
H. W. CUTFORTH ◽  
R. M. DePAUW ◽  
G. E. WINKLEMAN

A field study was carried out in four environments to determine the effects of available water and cultivar on N and P uptake, translocation, and utilization efficiency of wheat (Triticum spp.) cultivars with varying grain yield potential and protein concentration. Two common wheat (T. aestivum L.) cultivars, Neepawa and HY320, and two durum (T. turgidum L. var. durum) cultivars, DT367 and Wakooma, were studied. HY320 and DT367 had higher grain yield potentials and lower protein concentrations than Neepawa and Wakooma. Total plant N and P uptake was proportional to available water, and was strongly associated with dry matter accumulation. From 67 to 102% of plant N and 64–100% of P present at harvest had been accumulated by anthesis. Postanthesis uptake of N and P was greater under moist than under dry environments. There were few cultivar differences in uptake of N or P, and any differences observed were related to variations in plant dry matter. Nitrogen harvest index ranged from 71 to 85% and P harvest index ranged from 81 to 93%. Both indices responded to environment in the same way as grain harvest index; there were no cultivar differences for either N or P harvest index. From 59 to 79% of N and 75 to 87% of P present in vegetative tissues at anthesis was translocated to the grain; translocation did not vary among cultivars. The efficiency of utilization of N and P in production of harvest biomass and grain was directly proportional to water availability and was greater in the high yield cultivars HY320 and DT367 than in Neepawa and Wakooma. There was no evidence that selection for N uptake, translocation, or utilization efficiency would be useful in wheat breeding.Key words: Triticum aestivum L., T. turgidum L. var. durum, nitrogen harvest index, phosphorus harvest index


2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Selles ◽  
R. P. Zentner

Results from fertilizer trials with hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) conducted throughout southwestern Saskatchewan under fallow and cereal stubble cropping conditions were used to determine if grain prote in concentration (GPC) could be used as an index of N sufficiency to the crop. Critical GPC were determined using the Cate-Nelson R2 procedure. Grain yield and protein concentration were negatively correlated under stubble and for fallow cropping when yields were below 2858 kg ha–1 ± 179, with grain protein decreasing by 15 mg g–1 for every 1000kg ha–1 yield increase. In these two groups of observations, water and N availability, N yield and grain produced per unit N available suggested that water availability was the dominant factor limiting grain yield. For the portion of fallow observations in which grain yields were higher than 2858 kg ha–1, water availability was not limiting, and N availability controlled grain yield and protein concentration. In this group, a GPC of 128 mg g–1 (range of 123 to 135 mg g–1) marked the transition between N deficiency and sufficiency. Under stubble cropping and for the lower-yielding portion of the fallow cropping system, where water stress was predominant, the Cate-Nelson analysis identified critical protein concentrations of 160 and 154 mg g–1, respectively. However, these critical concentrations separated populations into moderately and severely water-stressed crops, rather than providing a separation based on N availability. We concluded that GPC as a post-harvest index of N sufficiency must be used with caution in southwestern Saskatchewan. Grain protein concentration below the critical limit of 128 mg g–1 is a reliable indicator of low N sufficiency, but high grain protein does not necessarily imply N sufficiency because, frequently, grain yield and protein concentration are negatively correlated due to water stress. Key words: Yield, protein, N availability, critical levels, water stress


1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 443 ◽  
Author(s):  
MG Mason ◽  
RW Madin

Field trials at Beverley (19911, Salmon Gums (1991; 2 sites) and Merredin (1992; 2 sites), each with 5 rates of nitrogen (N) and 3 levels of weed control, were used to investigate the effect of weeds and N on wheat grain yield and protein concentration during 1991 and 1992. Weeds in the study were grasses (G) and broadleaf (BL). Weeds reduced both vegetative dry matter yield and grain yield of wheat at all sites except for dry matter at Merredin (BL). Nitrogen fertiliser increased wheat dry matter yield at all sites. Nitrogen increased wheat grain yield at Beverley and Merredin (BL), but decreased yield at both Salmon Gums sites in 1991. Nitrogen fertiliser increased grain protein concentration at all 5 sites-at all rates for 3 sites [Salmon Gums (G) and (BL) and Merredin (G)] and at rates of 69 kg N/ha or more at the other 2 sites [Beverley and Merredin (BL)]. However, the effect of weeds on grain protein varied across sites. At Merredin (G) protein concentration was higher where there was no weed control, possibly due to competition for soil moisture by the greater weed burden. At Salmon Gums (G), grain protein concentration was greater when weeds were controlled than in the presence of weeds, probably due to competition for N between crop and weeds. In the other 3 trials, there was no effect of weeds on grain protein. The effect of weeds on grain protein appears complex and depends on competition between crop and weeds for N and for water at the end of the season, and the interaction between the two.


1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 983-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATRICK M. McMULLAN ◽  
PETER B. E. McVETTY ◽  
AILEEN A. URQUHART

Dry matter and nitrogen (nitrate and reduced) accumulation and redistribution in four different spring oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes grown at commercial field density were studied on a plant part and whole plant basis over the growing season for 2 yr. The four cultivars displayed significant differences in plant part and total plant dry matter, harvest index, nitrogen content, nitrogen concentration, nitrogen harvest index, and nitrogen translocated values at most sample dates in both years. Grain yield per plant was correlated with dry matter accumulation (r = 0.80*). Harvest index was highly correlated with grain yield per plant (r = 0.88**). Grain nitrogen content was highly correlated with plant nitrogen content (r = 0.94**). Nitrogen harvest index and harvest index were highly correlated (r = 0.86**), indicating that they may be related processes. Since plant dry matter and plant nitrogen content were not significantly correlated, it should be possible to select simultaneously for these traits to effect grain yield and grain nitrogen content increases on a per plant basis. Further research will have to be done to determine how these changes will relate to grain nitrogen concentrations and grain yield per unit area.Key words: Avena sativa L., oat, dry matter, nitrogen, yield, protein


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Fathi ◽  
G. K. McDonald ◽  
R. C. M. Lance

The interaction between nitrogen (N) rate and post-anthesis moisture stress in 6 cultivars of barley (Clipper, Stirling, Weeah, Schooner, Chebec, and Skiff) was examined. Plants were grown in a glasshouse at 2 rates of N under well-watered conditions until 3 days after ear emergence, when the stress treatment was started. Yield and grain protein concentration (GPC) responses and changes in the dry matter and N content of the straw and grain in the main stem and tillers were examined separately. Nitrogen increased grain yield in all cultivars except Weeah, with Skiff and Stirling being the most responsive. Post-anthesis stress did not reduce yields at the low N rate but large reductions occurred at the high N rate in all cultivars; the yields of Stirling, Chebec, and Skiff were most affected. At the low N rate, stress did not significantly affect kernel weight and GPC, but kernel weight declined and GPC increased at the high N rate. Compared with the main stem, tillers produced smaller grain with a lower GPC. The responses to N and water stress, and the different sensitivities of cultivars to stress, were largely due to the effects of the treatments on the growth of the tillers. In Stirling, Chebec, and Skiff, grain yield and kernel weight from the tillers were greatly reduced by stress, whereas Clipper showed relatively little effect of N and stress on yield and kernel weight. Net remobilisation of dry matter was increased by stress but not by N treatment, and the amount remobilised varied between genotypes. At the high N rate, post-anthesis stress increased the N content per kernel and net remobilisation of N. Although genotypes differed in the net amount of N remobilised and in the N harvest index, there was little variation in GPC between cultivars. The work demonstrated that reductions in yield and kernel weight and increases in GPC from post-anthesis stress can be greater when plants are grown at a high rate of N than when the supply of N is limited. The different responses to stress and N among the 6 cultivars were associated, in part, with the pattern of tiller development. However, there appeared to be differences in the sensitivity of grain filling to stress independent of the responses in tillering. While the net remobilisation of dry matter and N differed between cultivars, the amounts did not appear to be related to differences in kernel weight or GPC.


2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Carr ◽  
G. B. Martin ◽  
W. W. Poland

Continuous wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Thell.) and other intensive cropping systems are replacing t he wheat-fallow (WF) system in the semiarid prairie region of Canada and the northern USA. However, most wheat cultivar recommendations are based on performance in a WF system. Our objective was to determine if cultivar ranking for grain yield, grain protein concentration, and kernel weight changed for hard red spring wheat in WF compared with continuous wheat (WW) systems. Ten cultivars were seeded on a Dark Brown Chernozem loam following fallow and wheat over 3 consecutive years at Dickinson, ND, USA. Fertilizer was applied for equivalent yields in both systems based on soil test results. More grain and heavier kernels were produced during the crop phase of the WF system than the WW system, in part because soil-water content was greater after fallow than wheat in 2 of 3 yr. Grain protein concentration was unaffected by cropping system. Grain yield, grain protein concentration, and kernel weight differed among cultivars. Interactions did not occur between cropping systems and cultivars for any grain parameter. Results of this study support the hypothesis that wheat cultivar ranking based on performance in a WF system can be extended to a WW system. Key words: Crop rotation, cropping systems, fallow, monoculture, wheat


1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 949 ◽  
Author(s):  
GK McDonald

The responses of wheat to applications of nitrogenous fertilizer were examined between 1988 and 1990 at 10 sites in South Australia which were considered to be marginally deficient in N. Nitrogen rates ranged from 0 kg N/ha to 150 kg N/ha and the experiments were sown after a range of crops and pastures. Nitrogen often increased early crop vigour and subsequent vegetative growth but significant increases in grain yield occurred at three of the 10 sites only; at the remaining sites there was no significant response or there was a reduction in yield at the highest rates of N. Kernel weights fell and grain protein concentration increased at most sites as the rate of N increased. The total amount of N per kernel was relatively constant across the N treatments at each site and across the 10 sites it varied less than the starch content per kernel. Grain protein concentration therefore was affected more by the amount of starch deposited in the grain than by the total amount of nitrogen. The amount of dry matter remobilized post-anthesis, calculated from changes in dry weight, was high and at the majority of sites was increased with applications of nitrogenous fertilizer. Despite the generally large amount of dry matter remobilized, this appeared to be used inefficiently during grain filling and there was little evidence that it greatly contributed to grain growth and grain protein concentration. The relationship between starch content per kernel and N content per kernel varied between sites: in some cases starch and N were negatively correlated, while in other instances there was a positive correlation or no correlation. The data suggest that high grain protein concentration at high levels of N are not a direct consequence of increased mobilization of dry matter and greater translocation of N to the grain. Dry matter production at anthesis was correlated with the amount of growth after 10 weeks but generally this increased dry matter production was of no benefit to yield. It is concluded that in the medium rainfall areas of the state, there is no advantage to be gained from improved early vigour, except perhaps where poor early growth is due to inadequate management.


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