ABSTRACT

Two experiments were carried out to determine the ancestral source of the sprouting susceptibility problem experienced by the sawfly resistant wheats Chester and Canuck. The first was a field experiment which included seven wheats from the sawfly resistant breeding program while the second was carried out in a growth chamber and included twelve wheats from the same program. Although the results are not conclusive, they suggest that the sprouting susceptibility may have been inherited from S615, the original source of the stem solidness in this program. Although there are many intervening crosses between S615 and Chester/Canuck, the main selection criterion has been for stem solidness which may have retained many characteristics associated with S615. Evidence from the growth chamber experiment also indicates that the low falling numbers of S615 may be partially due to starch characteristics.