Inheritance of Winterhardiness in an Eighteen-Parent Diallel Cross of Barley

Abstract

IntroductionSince winter barleys generally produce higher grain yields than spring barleys, under conditions of little or no winterkill, plant breeders have been in search of winter hardy varieties that would permit a northern expansion of the crop. This search has not uncovered varietal material appreciably superior to winterhardy varieties already in commercial use. Attention of plant breeders has, therefore, been directed toward hybridization and concomitant genetic problems with the view of combining characteristics of several varieties into new types of higher winterhardiness.Pulham (1954) and Rohde and Pulham (1960) made diallel crosses between eighteen varieties of winter barley and studied winter-survival behavior of all F1 and F., progenies and of the original eighteen varieties. In revie~t~ing this work, the present authors noted that the full diallel techniques had not been followed in analysing the data. Rhode and Pulham (1960) consolidated the data of all experinients and calculated total variance, treatment variance, error variance etc.; but they did not separate the different components of variation, such as Ileritable-fixable, Ileritable-nonfixable and nonheritable variation, nor did they study how these interact in the expression of the character. It was felt, therefore, that it might be profitable to re-analyse the data using thc diallel techniques of Hayman (1 951). Accordingly, the original ra\v data were obtained from Dr. ~o h d e for inspection. T h e results of the re-analysis of these data are reported and discussed in the present paper. Materials and Methods

Freezing Stresses and Survival

“…Nor is it surprising that hardiness based on field survival is also genetically complex. Some of the genetic characteristics have been found to be dominant, others recessive (25,125,126) .…”

Evidence of a major genetic factor conditioning freezing sensitivity in winter wheat

“…Early studies suggested complex modes of inheritance. In a study of winter survival in a field‐grown, 18‐parent diallel of winter barley, the authors concluded that both additive and non‐additive effects were important, and that winter survival was controlled by a different combination of genes in each parent variety (Eunus et al. 1962).…”

“…Early studies suggested complex modes of inheritance. In a study of winter survival in a field-grown, 18-parent diallel of winter barley, the authors concluded that both additive and non-additive effects were important, and that winter survival was controlled by a different combination of genes in each parent variety (Eunus et al 1962). Parodi (1969) working with a 6-parent diallel cross of winter wheat, tested for cold hardiness at three temperatures in controlled-environment chambers and suggested there were Ôdifferent genetic mechanisms controlling cold resistance at each temperature levelÕ.…”

THE ANALYSIS OF HERITABLE VARIATION FOR THREE AGRONOMIC TRAITS IN A 6-VARIETY DIALLEL OF GRAIN SORGHUM,SORGHUM VULGAREPERS.

“…Hayman's diallel analysis h:ls bcen used by scvcral plant brcedcrs to derivc some gEnetic information froin materials at iheir disposal (Eunus et al 1962;Johnson and Altsc!, 1964;Dicltson, 1967;Widstrom and Davis, 1967 results indicatc that some insight of thc inheritance of relative complex traits may be obtaincd though inherent assun~ptions arc not al\\~ays satisfied. T h e criticisms of the assumptions in general and inferences that may be drawn from materials tested by this method \vcre presented by Gilbert (1958) and by Kemprhorne (1936).…”