Dormancy, ABA content and sensitivity of a barley mutant to ABA application during seed development and after ripening

Assessment of dormancy inception, maintenance and release was studied for artificially dried immature seeds harvested throughout seed development in the barley cv. Triumph and its mutant line TL43. Each was grown in Spain and Scotland under low and high dormancy inducing conditions, respectively. Both TL43 and Triumph followed a similar pattern of release from dormancy across the seasons, although seeds of TL43 were able to germinate at an earlier seed development stage. Abscisic acid (ABA) content was also studied in immature grains throughout the seed development period. Total amount of ABA in seeds of Triumph and TL43 was higher in plants grown in Scotland than in Spain. However, no clear genotypic differences in ABA pattern in the course of grain development could be detected whilst significant genotypic differences were observed for germination percentage (GP). Endogenous ABA content alone throughout grain development did not explain genetic differences in GP within environments. Environmental and genetic differences in dormancy were also observed on mature seeds throughout the after-ripening period. The initial germination (GPo) played a key role in the sensitivity to ABA of post-harvest mature seeds. For the same after-ripening stage, TL43 was more insensitive to exogenous ABA than Triumph. However, ABA responses in seeds of the two genotypes with similar GPo at different after-ripening stages were comparable. Therefore, differences in exogenous ABA sensitivity of post-harvest mature grain of these two genotypes seemed to be determined by, or coincident with, the initial germination percentage.The financial support of the INIA (Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria) and CICYT (Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología), which funded the Spanish teams and of the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department (SERAD) to JS Swanston are gratefully acknowledged.Peer Reviewe