Utility of Phenol Test in Varietal Characterization

Seeds of 15 wheat and 19 rice varieties were subjected to phenol test for testing varietal distinctness. The study revealed that the wheat varieties could be grouped on the basis of phenol reaction, whereas, lot of intravarietal variation was observed in the varieties of rice. The varieties in triticale group stained dark brown to black whereas in bread wheats, the colour ranged from light brown to black. However, all durum varieties remained unstained. None of the 19 varieties of rice could be characterized on the basis of phenol test or modified phenol test (presoaking in solutions of NaOH, Na₂CO₃, FeSO₄ and CuSO₄). Hence, the phenol test provides adequate criteria of admixtures of wheat cultivars across the different groups but was of little use for characterization in rice.