Comparing mating designs to restore seed production of interspecific hybrids between Trifolium repens (white clover) and Trifolium uniflorum |
| |
| Authors: | Muhammad Naeem Isabelle Marjorie Verry Peter D Kemp James P Millner Warren Mervyn Williams |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. College of Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand;2. Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department, Islamabad, Pakistan;3. AgResearch Grasslands Research Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand |
| |
| Abstract: | Interspecific hybrids between Trifolium uniflorum and cultivated white clover (Trifolium repens) have highly useful characteristics for temperate pastoral systems derived from both parent species. However, the early hybrids (F1 and BC1) also have unacceptably poor seed production for commerce. This study analysed the basis for the poor seed production and investigated breeding strategies for overcoming the problem. The BC1F1 generation produced lower‐than‐expected numbers of heads per plant and seeds per floret. Backcrossing of selected hybrids to white clover corrected these deficiencies and created new variation. Seed numbers were also returned to near target levels by recurrent selection within the BC1 generation. Thus, it was possible to retain a theoretical average of 25% of T. uniflorum genome and still achieve high seed production per plant. The BC1F2 and BC2F1 generations produced high seed numbers per plant, along with reasonable variation. Both of these second‐generation hybrid forms have high reproductive potential and should be the focus for the selection of the desired combinations of agronomic and seed production traits. |
| |
| Keywords: | interspecific hybrid backcross breeding recurrent selection
Trifolium uniflorum
Trifolium repens
seed production |
|
|
