Pod shatter resistance in the resynthesized Brassica napus line DK142

Abstract

Resistance to pod shatter was studied within and between populations of the resynthesized Brassica napus line DK142, grown under glass or in the field, at sites in the UK and Belgium. All populations showed similar ranges of resistance that were greater than that of a commercial cultivar (Apex). The increase in range was at least three-fold greater than the range found in Apex. Only sowing time affected the descriptive statistics of shatter resistance of each line, with spring-sown populations more shatter susceptible than winter-sown populations. The partitioning of dry matter to individual tissues of the pod was different for the two lines, with dry matter biased to the seed in Apex and to the receptacle in the more resistant DK142. In DK142 and Apex, as well as F1 and F2 populations derived from crosses between DK142×Apex, correlations for pod shatter resistance and mature pod characters were high, particularly the weight and length of the valves and septum. Shatter resistance increased in plants when pod numbers were reduced by the removal of whole racemes.