Abstract
Freezing tolerance is a determinant factor of persistence of perennials grown in northern climate. Selection for winterhardiness in field nurseries is difficult because of the unpredictability of occurrence of test winters allowing the identification of hardy genotypes. Here we describe a whole-plant assay entirely performed indoor in growth chambers and walk-in freezers to identify genotypes with superior tolerance to freezing within populations of open pollinated species. Three successive freezing stresses are applied to progressively eliminate 90 % of the population and to retain only the 10 % best performing genotypes. This approach can be used to generate recurrently selected populations more tolerant to freezing in different species.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Volenec JJ, Cunningham SM, Haagenson DM, Berg WK, Joern BC, Wiersma DW (2002) Physiological genetics of alfalfa improvement: past failures, future prospects. Field Crop Res 75:97–110
Castonguay Y, Dubé M-P, Cloutier J, Bertrand A, Michaud R, Laberge S (2013) Molecular physiology and breeding at the crossroads of cold hardiness improvement. Physiol Plant 147:64–74
Castonguay Y, Laberge S, Brummer EC, Volenec JJ (2006) Alfalfa winter hardiness: a research retrospective and integrated perspective. Adv Agron 90:203–265
Limin AE, Fowler DB (1991) Breeding for cold hardiness in winter wheat: problems, progress and alien gene expression. Field Crops Res 16:190–197
Castonguay Y, Michaud R, Nadeau P, Bertrand A (2009) An indoor screening method for improvement of freezing tolerance in alfalfa. Crop Sci 49:809–818
Bertrand A, Castonguay Y (2013) Molecular changes in recurrently selected populations of forage legumes. In: Imai R et al (eds) Plant and microbe adaptations to cold in a changing world. Springer, New York, pp 209–217
Iraba A, Castonguay Y, Bertrand A, Floyd D, Cloutier J, Belzile F (2013) Characterization of populations of turf-type perennial ryegrass recurrently selected for superior freezing tolerance. Crop Sci 53:2225–2238
Bélanger G, Castonguay Y, Bertrand A, Dhont C, Rochette P, Couture L, Drapeau R, Mongrain D, Chalifour F-P, Michaud R (2006) Winter damage to perennial forage crops in eastern Canada: causes, mitigation, and prediction. Can J Plant Sci 86:33–47
Dionne J, Castonguay Y, Nadeau P, Desjardins Y (2001) Freezing tolerance and carbohydrate changes during cold acclimation of green-type annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) ecotypes. Crop Sci 41:443–451
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Bertrand, A., Castonguay, Y., Bourassa, J. (2014). A Whole-Plant Screening Test to Identify Genotypes with Superior Freezing Tolerance. In: Hincha, D., Zuther, E. (eds) Plant Cold Acclimation. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1166. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0844-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0844-8_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0843-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-0844-8
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols