Genetic Studies in Tetraploid Wheats. I. Inheritance of Glume and Awn Characters

Inheritance of glume hairiness, glume and awn color, beak shape and glume tip color in nine intra- and nine inter-specific crosses of tetraploid wheats has been studied. Monogenic control of glume hairiness, glume tip and awn color was noted in all the crosses except for 0.5 × Langdon, where operation of epistatic genes was observed. Similarly, F₂ segregation for glume color in 3: 1 ratio with dominance of black/brown color over yellow/white color was noted with exception in 0.5 × Langdon (epistatic) and 8-8-3 × G-4-48 (digenic complementary). Only in T. polonicum x T. durum—N-59, dominance of white glumes over yellow glumes with a single gene difference has been noted. Studies on beak shape suggest maximum variations in segregation ratios and dominance. Comparison of the genetic behaviour of all these characters revealed constancy in the genetic constitutions of unit character, reversal of dominance and shifts in segregation ratios in intra- as also inter-specific combinations.