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The effects of cis-trans ABA on embryo germination and seed dormancy in wheat

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Abstract

Pre-harvest sprouting of wheat grain can cause economic losses especially in cultivars with low levels of seed dormancy. The aim of this study was to determine genotype differences in embryo sensitivity to germination in response to exogenous (+/–) cis-trans ABA treatments at different concentrations. Six white and four red seed-colored bread wheat genotypes that differed in dormancy were grown in a field near Swift Current, Saskatchewan in 2000 as a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The seed samples from this experiment were germinated in a controlled environment at 20 °C without light. The exogenous ABA treatments were 0 μM – whole seed (control), 0 μM-embryos, 25 μM – embryos and 50 μM – embryos. The ABA experiment was a factorial design with four randomized complete blocks with four ABA treatments in all combinations with the ten genotypes. A weighted (by day) germination index (WGI) was calculated for each genotype in each ABA treatment. Genotypes differed in response to ABA. The genotypes, ABA concentration and genotype by ABA concentration interaction effects were significant (p ≤ 0.05). Excised embryos showed significantly decreased dormancy in most of the experimental genotypes. The addition of exogenous ABA enhanced embryo dormancy of most genotypes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Field Crop Development Centre, Lacombe, AB, Canada, T4L 1W8

    J.M. Nyachiro

  2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, SPARC, Box 1030, Swift Current, SK, Canada, S9H 3X2

    F.R. Clarke, R.M. DePauw & R.E. Knox

  3. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, ECORC, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0C6

    K.C. Armstrong

Authors
  1. J.M. Nyachiro
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  2. F.R. Clarke
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  3. R.M. DePauw
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  4. R.E. Knox
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  5. K.C. Armstrong
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Correspondence to J.M. Nyachiro.

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Nyachiro, J., Clarke, F., DePauw, R. et al. The effects of cis-trans ABA on embryo germination and seed dormancy in wheat. Euphytica 126, 129–133 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019684025082

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