The inheritance of a vernalization response in Australian spring wheats

Abstract

A backcrossing procedure was used in the development of a pair of near-isogenic lines which differed in their responsiveness to vernalization.

When grown during the summer the two lines differed in the time taken for ear initiation and ear emergence. This difference could be reduced by vernalization treatments, either naturally under field conditions in the winter or in a refrigerator for summer sowings. Some evidence was obtained indicating that vernalization could occur during the ripening of grain in the glass-house during the winter.

A single gene difference governing the vernalization response was demonstrated, so that this characteristic may readily be transferred in a breeding programme for the production of frost-tolerant varieties.