Cultivar variation for seed development in white clover (Trifolium repens L.)

Summary A controlled environment study was undertaken to clarify the factors responsible for poor seed set and to study seed development, ovule degeneration and seed abortion, both morphologically and cytologically, in three Japanese cultivars of white clover. Although the mean number of ovules per floret was 4.2–5.1, the average number of seeds per floret was found to be only 2.3–2.7. Microscopic examination of carpels from 0 to 28 days following floret maturity and pollination showed that 26–33% and 8–17% of the total seeds lost occurred within the first three days and the third through fifth day following pollination, respectively. Beyond this period occasional seed abortion was observed at all stages of seed development, but this represented a very small proportion (2–7%) of the total seeds lost.A stain clearing technique was used to examine the cytoplasmic state of the embryo sac in intact, unfertilized, mature ovules and embryos of the ovules at 3 and 5-day periods following pollination. It was found that 20–22% of unfertilized and matured ovules were sterile, suggesting that ovule degeneration before fertilization was the major cause for the high percentage of seeds lost within a 0 to 3-day period following pollination. Cytological observations revealed that abortion of developing seed was due to a sudden arrest in embryo growth and that the early development of the embryo of such aborting seed was normal. Either nutrient shortage or meiotic irregularities may be the cause for high ovule sterility or post-fertilization abortion of developing seeds.