GENETIC IMPLICATIONS OF KERNEL HARDNESS VARIATION IN CANADA PRAIRIE SPRING WHEATS

The individual lines of three spring wheats were analyzed for kernel hardness by grinding time. Two of the wheats, HY320 and HY355, were composed exclusively of hard and soft lines; 38 and 74% hard lines, respectively. The third wheat, Oslo, consisted of a single hardness category and could be more accurately classified as a hard wheat. The grinding time responses of blends of HY320 and HY355 with known hard and soft wheats were predicted entirely from the proportion of hard and soft lines present in HY320 and HY355. There was no evidence of a major gene conferring medium kernel-hardness characteristics in spring wheat.Key words: Medium kernel-hardness, grinding time, wheat