INFLUENCE OF DURATION OF GROWTH, SEED SIZE, AND SEEDING DEPTH ON COLD HARDINESS OF TWO HARDY WINTER WHEAT CULTIVARS

Abstract

Two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, Kharkov 22 MC and Winalta, were grown for 14 or 28 days under controlled environment from large or small seed or from seed with about half the endosperm removed. The kernels were seeded either 1 or 5 cm deep. After a 14-day cold hardening period followed by a freezing test, plants that had grown actively for 28 days were hardier than those that had grown actively for only 14 days. Plants from large kernels were hardier than those from small kernels, which in turn were slightly hardier than those from kernels with half the endosperm removed. Deep seeding reduced cold hardiness. The treatments had a marked effect on the dry weight of crowns and a smaller effect on crown total available carbohydrate content, both of which were positively correlated with cold hardiness, whereas water content was negatively correlated with cold hardiness.