Glaucousness in wheat: its development and effect on water-use efficiency, gas exchange and photosynthetic tissue temperatures. [Symposium paper]
1986
Richards, R.A. | Rawson, H.M. | Johnson, D.A. (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Canberra (Australia). Div. of Plant Industry)
Glaucousness has previously been found to increase the yield of grain and dry matter of droughted wheat. The development of epicuticular wax in a pair of durum wheats isogenic for glaucousness was monitored, and likely reasons for increased yields of glaucous durum and common wheats over their non-glaucous isogenic counterparts determined. Glaucousness appears at the time of stem elongation and rapidly reaches a maximum. In glasshouse experiments, the water-use efficiency in droughted treatments were 9 percent higher in glaucous lines. Glaucous leaves were retained longer than non-glaucous leaves in the droughted treatment, but not in the irrigated control. Temperatures of photosynthetic tissue were cooler, rates of photosynthesis lower and the ratio of photosynthesis to transpiration higher in glaucous plants. Glaucousness can be a yield positive character under water-limited conditions, primarily through its effect on water-use efficiency, on an extended period of transpiration and on timing of the deposition of wax.
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