ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FALLING NUMBER AND GRAIN CHARACTERISTICS TO EVALUATE PREHARVEST SPROUTING IN WHEAT

Abstract

The falling number (FN) is a widely used parameter to evaluate sprouting damage in wheat. Despite its importance, many breeding programs lack facilities to determine the FN routinely. This study was conducted to elucidate the relationship of the falling number with germination percentage, visual sprouting score, hectoliter weight and the grain weight per spike, to improve the selection criteria in the pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) trials. Thirteen genotypes differing in PHS tolerance were evaluated in a rain simulator. The statistical analysis was conducted to understand the relationship of FN with grain characteristics. The path coefficient analysis revealed the highest association of the FN with the percentage of sprouted grains. Also, regression analysis determined that samples with more than 46% of sprouted grains had FN below 200s. The grains with 32 to 46% of germination resulted in FN values between 200 and 250s, and those with 19 to 32% of germination had FN between 250 and 300 s. Only those samples with less than 19% of germination resulted in FN values higher than 300s. The strong association between the germination percentage and the FN allows the selection of promising lines and the elimination of undesirable ones at an early stage of breeding.