Effects of seed maturation temperature on seed yield characteristics and subsequent generations of lupin

Phenology and morphology of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) varied in plants derived from different seed tots of the same cultivar, presumably because thermosensitive genotypes are affected by thermal environment during early development. This study was conducted to determine whether the maternal the rmal environment of developing seeds influenced subsequent plant developmen t. We grew white lupin plants cv. Ultra, at the mainstem first flower stage , in controlled growth chambers at 13 or 28C temperature under a 14-h photo period, At harvest maturity, yield components were quantified. The two resu ltant seed populations were planted in the greenhouse, and at the mainstem first flower stage, one-half of each group of plants was placed in growth c hambers at 13 or 28 degrees C, This regimen was tarried out through three g enerations. Seed dry weight per plant and weight per seed were greater for plants matured at 13 degrees C than at 28 degrees C, All plants produced fr om maternal seed that had matured at 28 degrees C developed at a slower rat e than those at 13 degrees C. Floral events in these plants lagged behind b y as much as 15 d, No differences were observed in mainstem vegetative node number. We concluded that phenotypic variability among seedlots of the sam e genotype can be caused by thermal environmental conditions occurring as e mbryos develop. These results show that thermal environment during seed pro duction can affect subsequent crop performance, which can impact cultivar p roduction and consistency among years.