Aluminum tolerance of registered wheat varieties in Japan

Abstract

Using hematoxylin staininba method (Table 1), 125 wheat varieties registered in Japan and their 80 ancestral varieties were examined for their aluminum tolerance (Tables 2 and 3). There were no highly tolerant (Score 1) or highly susceptible (Score 9) varieties in the Japanese registered varieties as Shown in Table 2. Among these registered varieties, however, thirteen have fairly high tolerant ability (Score 3). From their pedigree data, it was proved that their Al tolerance was derived from an American variety Turkey Red II and/or Japanese local variety Shiro Sanjaku. Most of these tolerant registered varieties were originated from the northern Ando soil area (Fig.1). Almost all of Japanese field soils are acidic and more or less aluminous, neverthless 88.0% of the reglstered vanetles have Score 5 (Intermedrate) and Score 7 (Susceptible), and the frequency of susceptible varieties have been increasing recently (Fig.2). These results suggest that aluminum tolerance is not a serious problem to the Japanese wheat breeding, because Japanese field soils had been ameriolated. The tolerant (Score 3) varieties were also selected for earliness, dwarfness and highly yielding ability as a result of general soil acidic conditions when soil acidity of their breeding nursery has not yet been improved.