A developmentally unstable character in wheat: Glume fertility

Summary In some wheat cultivars the terminal spikelet of the ear may contain a flower or a rudimentary floret in the axil of the second (upper) glume. The expression of this “glume fertility” depends on growing conditions, being more common when growth is vigorous. Examples have been found in all the groups of aestivum and durum wheat examined, and several hexaploid cultivars with a high level of expression are listed. It is more common in dense‐eared wheats. Some information on the inheritance of the character is presented. Crosses with “normal” cultivars have shows either multifactorial control, with normality partly dominant in some, or a major dominant factor for normality. Intercrosses of cultivars with a high level of expression have produced some non‐segregating normal lines, indicating complementary gene action.