On the problem of pre-harvest sprouting of wheat

Summary The problem of pre-harvest sprouting in wheat is very intricate. New concepts in breeding for resistance to pre-harvest sprouting regard many components such as -amylase production potential, response to gibberellic acid and inhibition in the bracts as important as dormancy. In the research work carried out at The University of Sydney's Plant Breeding Institute, we found varietal differences for each of these components. We also developed criteria for screening breeding material for these components. The implications of our findings in planning efficient breeding programmes to evolve varieties with multiple resistance to pre-harvest sprouting have been discussed briefly.