Published March, 1962
176 BRIEF ARTICLES
Figure 1-Equipment used in emasculation : (upper) General
view of complete operation; (lower) Close-up view of
“emasculator”.
equipment and techniques which would facilitate more
rapid and efficient operation than had been commonly
achieved previously. The result of this effort was an ex-
tremely simple set-up that requires very little equipment
(Figure 1 ) .
Two persons can operate 4 or 5 “emasculators” siniul-
taneously. The procedure and equipment employed are as
follows: Steel rods are driven into the ground near the
plants to be emasculated, and laboratory rings are attached
to the rods just above the panicles. The bottom is cut out
of a plastic freezer bag and the top of the bag is attached
to the ring with clothes pins or other suitable clamps. The
sorghum panicle is then inserted through the hole in the
bottom of the bag and the lower part of the bag is secured
to the peduncle by wrapping tightly with a rubber band
and looping the band over the collar of the flag leaf.
(Plastic bags are not very durable and polyethylene tubing
of 4 micron gauge has been suggested as a more substantial
material) ?
Hot water is poured into a bucket and adjusted to the
proper temperature by adding cold or hot water as required.
(Water can be heated in the field with a small camping
stove.) After the water has been adjusted to the desired
temperature, enough is poured into each plastic bag to sub-
merge the panicle and the time is recorded on a small tag
attached to the ring. A thermometer is placed in each bag
and the temperature is checked periodically and adjusted,
Maunder, A. B. Personal communication, January 1961.
if necessary, by adding hot water. Heat is not dissipated
very rapidly from plastic bags and on a hot day (90” F.
or higher) the temperature of the water will probably re-
miin within the desired range. If a source of water is not
readily available, water can be conserved by siphoning the
water from the bags and using it again.
This procedure has been successfully utilized at the Uni-
versity of Illinois for the past two years. It is especially
well-adapted for use by two persons.
SPEED OF GERMINATION-AID IN SELEC-
TION A N D EVALUATION FOR SEED-
LING EMERGENCE A N D VIGOR’
James D. Maguire?
ERMINATION rate (speed of germination) can be
G used as a tool in forage breeding programs for evalu-
ntion of seedling vigor. Speed of germination is one of the
oldest concepts of seedling vigor. Seed lots with similar
total germination often vary in rate of seedling emergence
and rate of growth. Germination rate is obtained at the
same time the germination percentages are determined.
The germination rate is calculated by dividing the num-
ber of normal seedlings per 100 seeds obtained at each
counting in the standard germination test by the number
of days seeds have been in the germinator or greenhouse
flat. The values obtained at each count are then summed
at the end of the germination test to obtain the germination
rate :
number of normal seedlings number of normal seedlings
( days to hrst count +’ ’ ’ + days to final count )
This method is an adaptation of the daily counting method
used by previous workers, notedly Throneberry and Smith”
in determining vigor. Arithmetic can be simplified for
some seeds by using the number of weeks (1, 2, 3 , etc.)
instead of days.
The germination rates and germination percentages of
two Kentucky bluegrass varieties presented in Table 1 illus-
trate the use of this evaluation method. Newport and PNW
205 selection have the same germination percentage but
PNW 205 germinated and emerged faster as indicated by
the higher germination rating. Calculation of germination
rate was done in the following manner:
For Newport-
Rate = (OJ7) + ( 1 2 / 1 4 ) + (57/21) + (18/28) = 4.1
For PNW 205-
Rate = (117) + (56/14) + (28/21) 4- (3/28) = 5 . 5 .
Contribution from the Department of Agronomy, Washington
State University, Pullman, Washington. Work was conducted
under Experiment Stations Project 1430. Received June 5. 1961.
Approved Nov. 20, 1961.
’Seed Analyst and Instructor, Department of Agronomy,
- Wash-
ington State University.
’Throneberry, G. O., and Smith, F. G. Relation of respiratory
and enzvniatic activitv to corn seed viability. Plant Phvsiol. 30:
337-343‘. 1955.
Table 1-Germination and seedling emergence rates and per-
centages for Newport and PNW 205 Kentucky bluegrass
varieties, 1960.
Variety
~
Germination Emergence
Percent Rate Percent Rate
Newport 87 4.1 37 0.6
PNW 203 87 5.5 42 1.3
 BRIEF ARTICLES 177

Table 1 also shows the seedling emergence of Newport pollinating, the author in the field in 1961 made 309 suc-
and PNW205 when planted in soil in the greenhouse. cessful crosses in wheat yielding 5681 seeds or 18.4 seeds
Both varieties had relatively the same total seedling emer- per head. In barley, 373 successful cross pollinations were
gence but the emergence rate for PNW205 was greater. made yielding 9884 seeds or 26.4 seeds per head. Thirty-
Similar results were obtained with other seed lot and among five of the bartey heads were on male sterile plants.
other varieties of Kentucky bluegrass. In barley, 60 of the pollinated heads set fewer than 11
Germination rate offers a simple method for evaluating seeds and 48 heads not among the 373 heads above were
seedling emergence and germination treatments. Plantings seedless. In most of these 108 heads the poor result was
made at different depths and light-temperature treatments apparently unrelated to this method of hybridization but
can be evaluated. The method also permits rapid determi- was due to a striking genetic inability of the female parent
nation of the effect of seed size within a variety upon seed- to serve as a female in crossing, a condition we have
ling vigor. This information is in addition to total germi- encountered before in the same or their parent varieties.
nation and is obtained at the same time germination counts A measure of the effectiveness of scissor emasculation at
are made. Evaluation may be made for different varieties this station are the data in Table 1.
or for seed lots within varieties. Another note of interest is the use of tubular enclosures
made of different kinds of paper for protecting emasculated
heads of wheat and barley in field hybridization of which
NOTES a preliminary report follows. The enclosures measuring 5
ON THE HYBRIDIZATION OF
’WHEAT by 3~ inches, were made of glassine paper, Sorma paper,
AND BARLEY and Kraft corn tassel bag paper. Glassine paper tubing was
2Darrell G. Wells made available by the Cereal Crops Section, USDA,Belts-
ville, Maryland. Sorma paper is a white translucent mate-
rial from which a large pollinating bag is commercially
SINCE Biffen (1) in 1907 first described the pollination
of barley by inserting a dehiscing anther in every floret,
made, one of which was cut up to make the Sorma enclo-
sures used here. Because it was known that Sorma paper is
there have been several improvements made in the hybridi-
so porous that rye pollen can be sifted through it, both 1
zation of barley and wheat. These include cone mass polli- and 2 layers of Sorma paper were used in making enclo-
nation (2, 3), use of a male sterile character (4) (in barley sures for the wheat and barley heads. All emasculations
only), and emasculation with scissors (5). Pope (2)
were made with scissors and all pollinations were made
ported in 1933 pollinating all the florets of a single head
en masse with paper cones using pollen from other varie-
of barley by inverting and shaking over the female head ties. The experiment was performed to determine if dif-
a spike with extruding dehiscing anthers. In 1944 Pope ferential seed sets would result from the use of enclosures
(3) described the use of a paper cone in the greenhouse made of different kinds of paper in anticipation of a wet
to confine pollen in the mass pollination of one or more crossing season such as occurred in 1958 when rather poor
spikes at a time. seed sets were experienced. The rains in 1961 ceased just
Cone mass pollination has been used at this station for when the experiment described here had been performed.
several years. Our experience with it may interest some The data obtained are summarized in Table 2. Slight dif-
other cereal breeders. "Milk shake" cups, 31/’2 by 2%
by 67/8 inches in size, were easily converted to cones. The
bottoms were removed, the cups cut lengthwise, and a ver- Table I--Seed from selfing and floret counts on unpollinated,
scissor-emasctflated heads of wheat and barley in 1960 and
tical strip cut out wide enough to reduce the diameter of 1961.
the cone when fastened together with wire staples to 21~
inches at the top and 1V2 inches at the bottom. Year Crop No. of No. of Seeds ~rom Percent
heads florets selling selling
The cones are used in rotation to avoid contamination 1960 Wheat 154 4,706 43 0.9
1960 Barley 188
with live pollen from an immediately preceding pollina- 1961 Wheat 95
6,609
3,898
47
49
0.7
1.3
tion. In the pollination of barley, one or several heads of 1961 Barley 96 3,028 92 3.0
Totals
the male parent are collected, the tops of the florets most 533 18,241 231 1.3
likely to contain ripe anthers are clipped off, and as the
dehiscing anthers are extruded, the male heads are inverted Table 2--Seed set and size in barley and wheat crosses devel-
and shaken just inside the top of the cone which encloses oping under three kinds of enclosures.
one or more emasculated inflorescences. The operator’s left Kind of enclosure Pollinations Unpollinated checks
hand holds the culms of the female spikes between the No. No. No. Seeds Wt. Numbers of Seed
heads of of per per set
fingers which at the same time hold the cone in place on polll- flo- seeds head seed Heads Fth~ Seeds
rets %
windy days to prevent an updraft of air. Wheat is similarly hated rets set cg.$
pollinated except that it is not necessary to trim the florets Barley__
Wax paper 178 6 294 0
to expose the dehiscing anthers since the ripe florets are Sorma paper, 1 layer
6
6
249
261 190
29.7
31.7
2.14
2.06 6 291 3
free to open when stimulated by handling. 8orma paper, 2 layers 6 255 199 33. 2 2.12 6 258 o
Kraft tasselbag paper 6 234 173 28.8 2, 57~ 6 252 8 1.0
Used in conjunction with scissor emasculation, Pope’s
cone mass pollination has freed us from the use of tweezers gD.05 0.04
1. 86%
Wheat
in crossing wheat and barley. With the help of one assist- Wax paper 3 98 69 23.0 2.16 3 100 8
ant who did most of the emasculating and a little of the Sorma paper, 1 layer
Sorma paper, 2 layers
3 96 82 27.3 2.11 3 98 5
3 93 68 22.7 1.87 3 92 0
Krafttasselbag paper 3 96 69 23.0 3. 78* 2 68 0 3.6
* Contribution from the Department of Agronomy,Mississippi * Analysis of variance not made in the ease of wheat because weights by individual
Agricultural ExperimentStation. Published with permission of the spikes were not recorded. ~ Under Kraft paper, barley seeds were 23.8% larger
Director as Journal Paper 958. Received July 22, 1961. than the average seed formed under the enclosures and wheat seeds were 84.4% larger.
$ One head of 25 shriveled seeds weighing 170 eg. was not included in this determination.
~Agronomist,Mississippi Agr. Exp. Sta., State College, Miss. See text.