Effect of a Rht gene conditioning the semidwarf character on winterhardiness in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell)

In the northern part of the North American Great Plains, the level of cultivar winter-hardiness required for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production is extremely high. Presently, available winter wheat cultivars with adequate winterhardiness are tall and, under favourable growing conditions, crop lodging and excessive amounts of straw can present serious production problems. Consequently, cultivars with short, stiff straw and a high harvest index would be desirable for high production areas within this region. However, semidwarf cultivars with superior winterhardiness have not yet been developed. In this study, six GA-insensitive (Rht) semidwarf parents with poor to moderate winterhardiness were crossed with three GA-sensitive (rht) tall parents possessing good winterhardiness to produce 20 different single, three-way and double crosses. These crosses were evaluated to determine if the GA-insensitive character could be combined with a high level of winterhardiness in winter wheat. Gibberellic acid (GA) sensitivity analyses of F 2 seedlings established that a single GA-insensitive gene was involved in each cross. F 2 -derived F 3 and F 3 -derived F 4 lines were assessed for GA-sensitivity and winterhardiness levels were determined from field survival at several locations in Saskatchewan, Canada. Winter survival of homozygous GA-sensitive and GA-insensitive lines were similar in both generations. Lines with winterhardiness levels similar to those of the three tall parent cultivars were recovered in all GA-response classes. The absence of a meaningful pleiotropic effect of Rht genes on winterhardiness indicates that the reason semidwarf cultivars with superior winterhardiness levels have not been developed is due to the lack of a concentrated breeding effort to combine the two characters. A breeding strategy for the production of adapted winterhardy semidwarf winter wheat cultivars is discussed. The influence of endogenous gibberellin levels on cold hardiness in winter wheat is also considered.Key words: Cold hardiness, field survival, Triticum aestivum L, semidwarf, Gibberellic acid