Effects of irradiance and water supply on grain development in wheat

Abstract

SUMMARY The effects of two levels of irradiance and of water supply on grain development in two cultivars of winter wheat were studied by imposing treatments during the phases of cell production and cell expansion in the endosperm. The storage capacity of the grain was determined by cell number in the endosperm, which was reduced by both treatments during the cell production phase. Changes in cell number caused by the treatments were due to changes in the rate of production of cells; the duration of the cell production phase was constant. Weight per grain at maturity was proportional, both within and between cultivars, to the number of endosperm cells, except when treatments altered the supply of assimilate to the grain during the cell expansion phase. Reducing irradiance and water during the cell expansion phase decreased the rate of accumulation of dry matter in the grain and reduced weight per grain at maturity, with no effect on the duration of grain filling. Shrivelled grain resulted from a failure of the endosperm cells to fill completely, and was characterised by a reduction in the number of ‘B’‐type starch granules.