Abstract
The expression of seed dormancy related to germination temperature was studied in 25 wheat genotypes grown in the field at two locations near Zagreb and Županja in Croatia during 2008/2009 growing season. Germination tests were conducted at 15, 20 and 25 °C at harvest maturity (Time 1) as well as after 10 days (Time 2) and 15 months (Time 3) of seed after-ripening at room temperature, respectively. Significant (P < 0.05) differences among locations (L), temperatures (T) and genotypes (G) as well as significant L × T, G × L, G × T and G × L × T interactions were observed for weighted germination index (WGI) at both Time 1 and Time 2. At Time 3 significant differences among genotypes for germination percentage were found only at the early stages of germination. The 25 wheat genotypes responded with decreasing WGI mean values (increasing dormancy) as temperature changed from 15 to 25 °C. The rate of dormancy increase with higher germination temperature varied among genotypes. Some genotypes, having similar values of WGI at 15 °C, significantly differed from each other at 25 °C and vice versa. This indicates that the range of germination temperatures included in the present study is useful when testing genotypes for their temperature-dependent dormancy potential. The number of genotypes with WGI values significantly different from the mean, as a measure of the power of germination test to detect differences in dormancy level among genotypes, as well as heritability estimates for WGIs were the highest at Time 1 for 15 °C and at Time 2 for 20 °C.
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Financial support for part of the work within this study has been provided by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports Research grants No. 178-1780691-2047.
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Ikić, I., Maričević, M., Tomasović, S. et al. The effect of germination temperature on seed dormancy in Croatian-grown winter wheats. Euphytica 188, 25–34 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-012-0735-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-012-0735-8