Flower induction treatments have no effects on seed traits and transmission of alleles in Picea glauca.
Flower induction methods-hormone application or exposure to physiological stress, or both-are used routinely for shortening breeding cycles and increasing seed production in white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). The objectives of this study were: (1) to evaluate the effects of flower induction on seed yield and quality in white spruce; and (2) to determine if flower induction treatments affect the maternal contribution to offspring. We assessed the effects of flower induction treatments, which consisted of gibberellin A(4/7) (GA(4/7)) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) stem injections, on allele segregation for 28 clones, number of seeds per cone, number of sound seeds per cone, seed weight, and the germination rate of a subset of clones. Flower induction treatments did not affect any of the phenotypic traits examined. No increase in segregation distortion in allozyme loci following flower induction treatments was observed.
Beaulieu
J.
J
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S., P.O. Box 3800, Sainte-Foy, Quebec G1V 4C7, Canada.
Deslauriers
M.
M
Daoust
G.
G