ABSTRACT
The production of high quality wheat is one of the most important factors in Swiss agriculture and includes the prevention of sprouted wheat. In the winter and spring wheat breeding program, the so-called sprouting index, calculated from the falling number dry (directly from the field) and the falling number wet (after 3 days treatment in the moist chamber) has been used to classify varieties and breeding lines. At different sampling times the sprouting index is a more accurate way of estimating the sprouting resistance of new varieties than are the falling numbers.
Ecoanalytical studies were used to measure the phenotypic stability of sprouting resistance of varieties in different environments. There were great differences in the ecostability between varieties and years. The ecovalues of the sprouting indices were more meaningful for varieties and for years as compared to the ecovalues of the falling numbers alone.
