The paper describes the sequence of grain filling in the main shoot ears of the wheat cultivar Maris Widgeon, sampled at regular intervals from anthesis to maturity from a field crop in 1968 and classified on the basis of the number of spikelets per ear, the number of florets per spikelet, and the number and position of florets which developed into grain. The development of the ears fell into two distinct phases. The first lasted approximately 31 days and was characterized by a rapid increase in the weight of all developing florets, and therefore all spikelets, and by similar relative rates of dry matter gain for all grain. The second lasted 32 days when only a few of the spikelets increased in weight and the relative rates of dry-weight gain per grain were much reduced and variable. The significance of the results in relation to the interpretation of the physiological basis of yield is discussed.
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P. R. Walpole (1970) studied this question.