Cytokinin overcomes spikelet-driven inhibition of tillering in wheat and barley by delaying meristem development

Correlative inhibition mechanisms allow plants to regulate the number of organs they produce, but act as a developmental limitation on crop yields. Previously, trade-offs have been observed in wheat and barley between the size of individual compound inflorescences (spikes) and the total number of spikes produced by each plant. We aimed to test the hypothesis that these trade-offs represent an uncharacterized form of correlative inhibition in grass reproductive architecture. We show that high spikelet lines with spikes containing enhanced numbers of spikelets have reduced tillering and retarded development of later-initiated spikes. Moreover, we show that this effect is driven by the presence of developing, but not mature, spikelets in early-initiated spikes, thus representing a form of correlative inhibition. We show that cytokinin treatment delays the development of spike meristems and formation of spikelets, and as such, can promote the development of additional spikes in high spikelet lines, by providing a longer window for tillering to occur. Our results thus identify cytokinin as a potential target for breeding crops with enhanced yield. Furthermore, our results provide a developmental basis for previously observed yield trade-offs in cereal crops, and illustrate the importance of understanding developmental timing when attempting to breed higher-yielding crops.