REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT AND CROP ADAPTATION

The timing of flowering is often crucial in the adaptation of crops to their environments. It is controlled by an integration of the dayleng ths and daily temperatures experienced during the preceding vegetative phase. It is now possible to characterize the responses of any indivi dual crop cultivar to both environmental factors, and so predict when it will flower in any environment. The model employed is now being use d to analyse the effects of individual photoperiod-sensitivity genes, to characterize crop genetic resources, and influence plant-breeding s trategies.