MASS SELECTION OF WHEAT FOR GRAIN FILLING WITHOUT TRANSIENT PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Post-anthesis chemical desiccation of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants in the field eliminates transient photosynthesis by killing all green tissues, thus revealing the plant's capacity for grain filling from stored stem reserves, as the case is for post-anthesis stress such as drought or leaf diseases. This study was conducted to investigate whether mass selection for large kernels under chemical desiccation would lead to the improvement of grain filling in the absence of transient photosynthesis. Six crosses of common spring wheat were subjected to three cycles of mass selection from F2 through F4, when selection was performed for large kernels by sieving grains from plants that were either chemically desiccated after anthesis, or not (controls). The resulting 36 bulks (six crosses by three selection cycles by two selection environments) were compared with their respective F2 base populations, when tested with and without chemical desiccation. Selection for large kernels under potential conditions (without chemical desiccation) did not improve kernel weight under potential conditions, evidently because these materials were lacking in genetic variation for kernel weight under potential conditions. In four of the crosses, 3rd cycle selection for large kernels under potential conditions decreased kernel weight under chemical desiccation. On the other hand, selection for large kernels under chemical desiccation was effective in improving kernel weight and test weight under chemical desiccation, depending on the cross and the selection cycle, with no genetic shift in mean days to heading or mean plant height. Selection for large kernels under chemical desiccation was also effective in some cases in increasing kernel weight under potential conditions. The results are interpreted to show that selection under potential conditions and under chemical desiccation operate on two different sources for grain filling, namely transient photosynthesis and stem reserve utilization, respectively. In order to expose genetic variability for stem reserve utilization to selection pressure, transient photosynthesis must be eliminated, as done by chemical desiccation in this study.