Mutation in Internode Length Affects Wheat Plant-Type
C. O. Qualset 1,
G. N. Fick 1,
M. J. Constantin 2, and
T. S. Osborne 3
1 Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis 95616
2 University of Tennessee-Atomic Energy Commission, Agricultural Research Laboratory, Oak Ridge 37830
3 Department of Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
A mutant form was found in an M2 population of wheat Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell. (aestivum group) ‘Seneca’. The population was derived from soaked grains treated with 3.2 kilorads of gamma rays. The first and second internodes below the spike were reduced in length 33 and 15 percent, respectively, and the total height was 18 percent shorter than the prototype. The flag leaf sheath was normal in length resulting in spike placement below the flag leaf lamina. Segregation data suggest that one dominant gene controls this character. The canopy structure of a population of mutant plants is different from that of the normal type; therefore, this mutant can be used to evaluate light interception and physiological aspects of crop productivity.
