| Cytoplasmic effects on the competitive ability of wheat
Nobuyoshi WATANABE Faculty of Agriculture, Gifu University, Gifu 501-11, Japan The use of alien cytoplasm in wheat is very important for the broadening of the genetic variability of some quantitative characters. Thus the effects of alien cytoplasm on the competitive ability were evaluated in the present paper. Nine alloplasmic Chinese Spring strains along with euplasmic CS were used in the study (Table 1). The competitive ability of each alloplasmic CS strains was tested by comparing the relative response of strains to competitive conditions with euplasmic CS. Under the competitive conditions, a row of tested strains was associated with rows of euplasmic CS. Pure stands consisted of three rows of tested strains. The plants of alloplasmic strains were planted in the pure stands and in the mixed stands, 10 cm apart in rows spaced 30 cm apart with three replications. Records were taken on five plants from the middle rows of the pure stand and the mixed stand for grain yield(g)/plant. Table 1 describes the average of yielding ability of each strain in the pure stand and in the mixed stand. Yielding ability of (speltoides)-CS strain in the mixed stand was higher than that in the pure stand. (juvenalis)-CS strains in the mixed stand showed similar yields to the pure stand. The yieldring ability of the other strains in the pure stand were less than that in the mixed stands. (squarrosa)-CS strain and (longissima)-CS strain were very weak competitors with euplasmic CS. The yielding ability in the pure stand was negatively correlated with the competitive gain (Fig. 1). By introduction of alien cytoplasm, it should be noted that the alien cytoplasm shows a strong influence on the competitive ability. |