Flower induction treatments have no effects on seed traits and transmission of alleles in Picea glauca

Abstract

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.