EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENT ON THE RELATION BETWEEN SEED PROTEIN AND SEEDLING VIGOR IN WHEAT

Abstract

Wheat seedlings grown from seeds of different protein levels, obtained from an N fertilizer field trial, showed significant differences in dry matter and a high positive correlation (r = 0.920**) between seed protein content and dry matter after 3 weeks’ growth. In further studies using low and high protein seeds (99 and 142 mg/g), dry matter differences were obtained at up to 40 days from sowing and in different temperature and light intensity environments with nutrient concentrations containing up to 24 mM nitrate. Maximum dry matter accumulation occurred at approximately 5 mM nitrate but no limit was reached in protein accumulation with up to 24 mM nitrate. Seedlings grown from high protein seeds were shown to be more advanced in morphological development than those seedlings grown from low protein seeds.