FACTORS FOR YIELD AND QUALITY OF SPRING WHEAT 
17 
There is no evidence of maternal influence in the reciprocal crosses, 
although there are small consistent differences in the percentages at 
the two points. The percentages of brown-glumed plants are slightly 
greater when Hard Federation is used as the female parent and the 
percentages of white-glumed plants slightly greater with Marquis as 
the female parent. In all cases, however, the differences are not 
sufficiently large to be significant. 
The deviations in numbers from the simple 3 : 1 ratio are not sig- 
nificantly different in any family or in the several totals. In general, 
the F 2 data show a remarkably close fit. The study was continued 
on the F 3 generation at Bozeman, and the data obtained are given 
in Table 17. 
Table 17. — Breeding behavior in the F 3 generation of white and brown glume classes 
and 12,197 -plants of Marquis-Hard Federation wheat crosses grown at Bozeman, 
Mont., in 1924 
F2 classes and their breeding be- 
havior in the F3 generation 
F, families Number of F 3 plants by 
glume color 
Devia- 
tion from 
3 : 1 ratio 
Probable 
error 
i Expected 
Number ; on 
1 2 : 1 ratio 
Brown 
White 
Total 
Glumes white: 
White 51 
2,840 
1,438 
2,840 
5,795 
3,562 
Glumes brown: 
Brown and white - ... 
108 115 
4.357 
11 22. 19 
Brown 
Total 
65 58 j 3,562 
224 7.919 
4, 278 12. 197 
! 
These data show that the white-glumed plants all bred true and 
that the brown-glumed plants either bred true or segregated in a 3 : 1 
ratio in proportions which approximate the ratio of 2 : 1. 
KERNEL COLOR 
The inheritance of red kernel color was first reported by Biffen 
(2) to be dominant over white in F x and to segregate in a 3 : 1 ratio 
in F 2 . Nilsson-Ehle (13) first reported crosses which in F 2 gave 
15:1 and 63:1 ratios of red-kern eled to white-kern eled plants, 
proving the presence of two and three genetic factors. Similar 
ratios have been found since by other workers. 
In the present study red proved dominant as usual in the F x genera- 
tion. The data on "segregation of F 2 plants from 12 Fi families 
including reciprocal crosses are given in Table 18. 
The data in Table 18 show little or no difference between recip- 
rocal crosses. Of the 12 families 10 show a close fit to a 2-factor 
or 15:1 ratio and the remaining two families, 2A1 and 2A3, to a 
1 -factor or 3 : 1 ratio. The deviation in numbers, for each family 
and for the totals, are all less than three times their probable errors. 
The fact that two different ratios were obtained indicates that 
either Marquis does not have homozygous dominant factors for 
kernel color or shows that the Hard Federation male-parent plants 
differed in their genotype. Family 2A2 which segregated in a 15 :1 
ratio was produced from an F kernel produced on the same spike 
79182— 26t 3 
