Recurrent selection for maturity and percent seed protein in Glycine max based on S0 plant evaluations

Summary Progress was evaluated after four cycles of recurrent selection among S₀ plants of Glycine max (L.) Merr. in which selection was either for maturity (MAT) or seed protein (PRO). The two populations, MAT and PRO, were developed from an initial population that was a combination of a line with 48.4% seed protein and two F₂ populations segregating for male sterility. Intermating was facilitated by genetic male-sterility and the selection intensity was 20% in each cycle of the two populations. Selection for early maturity advanced the average maturity a significant 2.7±0.34 days cycle^–1 and reduced seed yield a non-significant 9.1±2.95 g plant^–1 cycle^–1. Selection increased mean seed protein a significant 0.8±0.15 percentage points cycle^–1 and decreased percent seed oil a non-significant 0.5±0.17 percentage points cycle^–1. Correlation coefficients between seed protein and seed yield varied from 0.18 to –0.21 in the four cycles indicating plants with favorable combinations of seed yield and seed protein could be identified. Selection in these two populations would be effective for early maturity and for increased seed protein.     

The inheritance of nitrate content in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Summary The inheritance of nitrate content in lettuce was analysed using 16 F₂ populations and three F₃ populations. Frequency distributions of nitrate content in F₂ and F₃ populations were unimodal and symmetrical, indicating a quantitative inheritance. Both significant positive and negative deviations of the F₂ mean from the mid-parent value were found, indicating dominance or epistasis. Deviations towards low nitrate content were more frequent than deviations in the other direction. Estimates of heritabilities for nitrate content in the F₂ populations ranged from 18% to 69% and were in most cases above 50%. Crosses between low nitrate cultivars did not have lower estimates of heritability in the F₂ than crosses between cultivars with larger differences in nitrate content. In one case a genotype x experiment interaction for nitrate content of parental cultivars was found.Three F₃ populations of crosses between cultivars with low nitrate content were analysed. Estimates of heritabilities for F₃ line means ranged from 78% to 91% and estimates of the genetic standard deviation of nitrate content in unselected advanced generations ranged from 0.24–0.33 g kg^–1. The estimates of heritabilities and of genetic variation in advanced generations offer good prospects of selection of low nitrate genotypes in lettuce. A comparison of efficiency of selection in the F₂ generation and F₃ line selection is made.     

Variation in the crude protein content of field beans (Vicia faba L.) in relation to the possible improvement of the protein content of the crop

Summary A survey of the protein content of various field bean varieties indicates a range of variation extending over sixteen units of crude protein from 22–38%. Analysis of single plants from within three WPBS varieties Dylan. Danas and Dacre indicates that a similar range exists within commercial varieties. Examination of the progenies of high and low protein single plant selections together with a preliminary estimation of heritability suggest that protein content is highly heritable. No significant correlations were found between protein content and seed yield.     

Environmental correlations among grain yield and other important traits of wheat in drylands

Summary Environmental correlation coefficients were computed among all pairs of five traits, namely grain yield, heading date, number of tillers per m², plant height and 1000-grain weight (grain size) using 30 Triticum durum and 30 Triticum aestivum varieties grown in 18 environments. Grain yield was significantly correlated with the other four traits in almost all of the varieties. The mean correlation coefficient over all varieties ranged from 0.58 to –0.83 for durum wheat and 0.66 to 0.88 for aestivum wheat. The correlation coefficients between heading date and the other traits were also significant, ranging from –0.45 to –0.79 in durum wheat and –0.61 to –0.85 in aestivum wheat. The correlation coefficient between number of tillers with plant height and 1000-grain weight were the smallest, 0.19–0.32 in durum wheat and 0.39–0.60 in aestivum wheat. It was concluded that agronomic practices favouring early and good stand establishment in the dry regions will favour the yield components and important adaptive traits, which contribute towards larger yields. Significant differences were found among genotypes in the environmental correlation coefficients and the associated changes in one trait as a result of changes in other traits.     

Winter hardiness in Turkish populations of cocksfoot,Dactylis glomerata L.

Summary Over a six-year period, Turkish populations of cocksfoot were investigated in the field at Sapporo, Japan, as to winter hardiness. After the first winter, only populations from the mild Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean regions were badly damaged. As the differential plant survival among geographical groups widened with the elapsing of years, we were able to rank the groups in descending order of relative hardiness from Eastern Anatolia, through the Black Sea, Central Plateau, Marmara and Aegean regions, to the Mediterranean region. This order was maintained throughout the experimental period.Winter temperatures prevailing in the locality of origin was the most important determinant of winter survival of the populations. The growth pattern in autumn and whether plants continued to grow through the winter or were enforced to winter dormancy, were related to differential survival between maritime and mountainous populations. On the other hand, this simple relationship is complicated by introgression. The subspecies distribution in the coastal region is related to a higher level of survival in the populations from the Black Sea region, where the continental type of cocksfoot occurs, than in the populations from the other maritime regions, where introgression has occurred from Daetylis glomerata subsp. hispanica with poor winter hardiness.Present address: Tropical Agriculture Research Center, Okinawa Branch, Ishigaki 907-01, Japan.     

Variation in cold tolerance and spring growth among Italian white clover populations

Seven populations collected at different altitudes in northern Italy, two Ladino breeding populations and two control cultivars (AberHerald and Grasslands Huia) of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were included in a series of experiments analysing: (i) levels of cold tolerance using artificial and field-based methods; (ii) relationships between these measures of cold tolerance; (iii) components of spring yield, various physiological traits, and their relationships with cold tolerance. Rates of seedling and growing point mortality in the populations over winter, assessed in separate field experiments, were closely related (r = 0.85). Grasslands Huia showed the highest death rates, and material originating from high altitudes the lowest. The LT₅₀ value, i.e., the temperature at which 50% of the growing points would die, estimated by an artificial freezing test, was significantly correlated with field-based measures of seedling (r = 0.64) and growing point (r = 0.84) mortality. The existence of these correlations is of potential interest for the development of indirect selection criteria for complex and expensive-to-evaluate traits such as winter survival in field plots. Besides being reliable, in this study the artificial assessment was also sensitive, providing a greater degree of separation of the populations means than field-based measures. Of the several physiological traits (water content,concentrations of water soluble and total non-structural carbohydrate, and water soluble protein content of stolons) measured at a mid-winter sampling date under field conditions, the only character showing significant variation between populations was soluble protein content. There was a slight trend for material with a higher protein content to exhibit greater field-based values of cold tolerance. High altitude populations tended to have low spring yields. The highest spring yield was found in one of the Ladino populations. The study identified two populations which combined, to differing extents, cold tolerance and spring yield characteristics that would be of potential use in breeding for specified agronomic/climatic zones. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Variation in forage grasses as hosts of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne naasi (Franklin) and selection for resistance in ryegrass

Summary Reactions of 13 grasses to Meloidogyne naasi varied with species; ryegrasses, fescues and their hybrids were generally susceptible and cocksfoot and timothy resistant. Marked variation in host resistance levels occurred between genotypes within cultivars.Selection of single plants, followed by tests on replicate tillers, identified resistant and susceptible genotypes in both Italian and perennial ryegrass cultivars. Resistant plants had few nematode-induced galls and fewer females and eggs than susceptibles. There was more or less continuous variation, with many genotypes intermediate between extremes of resistance and susceptibility. Selected resistant and susceptible genotypes are of use in assessing variation in nematode populations and as controls for breeding and selection programmes.     

The potential of selection and breeding for improved salt tolerance in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.)

Summary Four cultivars of Medicago sativa L. were subjected to selection for improved salt tolerance using a salinized solution culture technique at 250 mM NaCl. Selections were made after two weeks growth, based upon seedling shoot length differences. High (shoot lengths 14–31 mm) and low (7–12 mm) selection lines were established. Unselected shoot lengths ranged from 0–11 mm. Selection intensities ranged from 0.17% to 0.22% for the high selection lines, and from 0.30% to 1.05% for the low selection lines.Eleven selected plants from cv. CUF 101, and 10 from Local Syria were grown on and polycrossed. A sample of progeny seed from each was grown at 8 NaCl concentrations in solution cultures. Selected line seedlings produced shoots at 225, 250, 260, and 275 mM NaCl, whereas unselected material failed to grow above 225 mM NaCl. A second cycle of selection at 280 mM NaCl with these two cultivars achieved selection intensities of 0.21% and 0.45% for high and low selection lines, respectively. Selected lines grew and produced shoots at 300 mM NaCl.Seedlings derived from 1st and 2nd selection cycles and unselected control material were grown for 6 weeks at 0, 150, 175, and 200 mM NaCl in a sand culture experiment. The high selection line produced significantly greater shoot fresh weight, dry weight, and % live shoot weight than the unselected control material. Clearly selection as practised here can isolate individual seedlings having enhanced genetically based tolerance to NaCl, which is manifest in mature plants derived from polycrossing those selected individuals.     

Single plant selection for yield in lentil

Summary Individual plant selection for yield in lentil is problematic at a commercial crop density primarily because of inter-plant entanglement by tendrils. Visual plant selection for yield was compared with random selection in the F₅ at three plant densities (66, 133 and 200 seeds/m²) by an evaluation of F₇ progeny yields over two seasons in two populations of lentil. Random plant sampling was as effective as visual plant selection in isolating high-yielding F₇ lines. The plant density of the selection environment did not affect the response to selection. The correlations between the seed number of selected F₅ plants and the mean yield of their F₇ progenies were r=+–0.26 and –0.06 in two populations, indicating the lack of positive response to plant selection for seed number. The results show that 1) random sampling is the most economic of the methods tested of plant selection for yield and 2) the plant density of the environment for plant selection can be low enough to avoid inter-plant entanglement by tendrils, allowing a focus in plant selection on characters, other than yield, of importance to the breeding program and with a higher heritability than yield.     

Analysis of the yield potential and yield components of F1 and F2 hybrids of crosses between wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and spelt (Triticum spelta L.)

Summary Crosses of wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum and Hordeum vulgare ssp. agriocrithon) with Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare were used to select high yielding grain types under dryland Mediterranean conditions. No special difficulties were faced in making the crosses, in eliminating the brittle rachis genes from the grain types or in selecting 6-rowed types in crosses between 2-rowed wild barley and 6-rowed ssp. vulgare varieties. Brittle rachis genotypes, present in the segregating populations were used in developing self-reseeding permanent pastures for dry areas. The best selections were tested in seven trials during 1989–92 and some of them outyielded their parents and also the best improved check variety by 13–22%. Indications for transgressive segregation were obtained for grain yield, straw yield, total biological yield, harvest index and volume weight. The crude protein content of some of the selections was significantly higher than that of the checks. For breeding programs aiming at large seeds, special ssp. spontaneum lines should be used as parents. High grain yield was positively correlated with high straw yield, total biological yield, earliness in heading date, high harvest index and negatively with volume weight. It was concluded that unexploited useful genes, even when not directly observed in wild barley, could be transfered easily into high yielding genotypes by breeding.     

Genetic variability and interrelationship of traits in the industrial oil crop Vernonia galamensis

Vernonia galamensis is a wild plant from the family Asteraceae which is endemic to East Africa and has the potential to become a new oil crop for industrial uses. Its seed oil is rich in vernolic acid, a fatty acid of high interest for oleochemical applications. However, a breeding program for Vernonia galamensis cultivars with high seed and oil yields requires knowledge about the genetic variability of traits that influence seed and oil production. This study was undertaken to examine phenotypic and genotypic variability, broad-sense heritability, genetic advance under selection and interrelationships of agronomic and seed quality traits. A total of 122 Vernonia accessions, 115 collected from different regions of Ethiopia and seven introduced, were grown at two locations in Ethiopia (Alemaya and Babile), in 2001/2002 and were analyzed for 20 traits including phenology, yield, yield components, and seed quality with special emphasis on fatty acid composition. The collections exhibited significant variation for all traits except for days to emergence. Genotypes and locations interacted significantly (P 0.01) for all traits. Broad-sense heritability estimates ranged from 11% (for days to emergence) up to 79% (for days to maturity). Expected genetic advance was between 1.3% (for days to emergence) and 44.8% (for seed oil yield). Genetic correlation analysis revealed that seed yield per plant is highly and positively correlated with seed weight and head number; highly significant and negative correlations (r = –0.59, –0.82, –0.85, and –0.89) were found between vernolic acid and palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acid, respectively. Highly significant positive correlations (r = 0.55, 0.44, and 0.36) were observed between vernolic acid and oil content, meal protein content and seed oil yield, respectively. Path-coefficient analysis indicated seed weight and secondary head number to be the most important components of seed yield per plant. Vernolic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid had positive direct effects and stearic acid had a negative direct effect on oil content. The direct positive effect of oleic acid on oil content was, however, compensated by the negative indirect effects of stearic and vernolic acid resulting in a negative correlation (r = –0.60) between oleic acid and oil content. These observations will support the selection of accessions with high seed and oil yield, high meal protein contents, and high vernolic acid content.     

Coagulable protein in potato: Screening method and prospects for breeding

Summary From tubers of 34 varieties of Solanum tuberosum, extracts were prepared and analysed for crude protein and coagulable protein by the Kjeldahl method. Content of coagulable protein was 0.37–1.24%. From the same material, juice was prepared with a juice centrifuge and analysed for coagulable protein by the Kjeldahl and microbiuret method. The average amount of coagulable protein in the juice was 81.8% of the total coagulable protein. The correlation coefficient between coagulable protein in the juice and total coagulable protein was 0.956. The correlation coefficient between Kjeldahl and microbiuret data for coagulable protein in the juice was 0.956. Analysis of tuber juice by the microbiuret method is recommended as a rapid screening technique for coagulable protein.Relationships between protein data of the 34 varieties and earliness, yield and content of dry matter were analysed statistically. Content of coagulable protein in fresh material correlated with content of dry matter (rs=–0.756), yield of fresh potatoes (r=–0.615) and earliness (r=–0.361) but not significantly with yield of dry matter (rs=–0.309). Coagulable protein in dry matter correlated with fresh yield (r=–0.525), but not significantly with content of dry matter (r=–0.260), yield of dry matter (r=–0.131) and earliness (r=–0.054). Path coefficient analysis showed that 67% of the variation in coagulable protein in fresh material was statistically determined by earliness, content of dry matter, fresh yield and content of uncoagulable protein in fresh material, whereas only 34% of the variation in content of coagulable protein in dry matter was determined by these components. A high content of coagulable protein in fresh or dry matter can be combined with early maturity and with high yield of dry matter. Coagulable protein in dry matter seems to be a more suitable criterion of selection than coagulable protein in fresh material.     

<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Coffea arabica</Emphasis> hybrid performance for yield,fertility and bean weight

The performance of F1 hybrid plants derived from crosses between traditional varieties of Coffea arabica of Latin America with a wild collection of Sudan–Ethiopian origin were studied for yield, fertility and bean weight. Sudan–Ethiopian material possesses resistance to certain diseases, and possibly, better beverage quality. The objective of this breeding programme is to widen the very narrow genetic base of Central American coffee, even while increasing quality and productivity. The hybrid plants were obtained from two factorial crosses made and evaluated in two locations. They were compared in the two field trials using the six maternal lines as controls. Observations were taken on vegetative characters, annual and cumulated yield, dry weight of 100 beans, extent of early abortion as measured by the fraction of peaberries and post-zygotic ovule fertility as measured by the fraction of mature no-floating berries in water (FF). The F1 hybrid population were compared to the populations of maternal lines for the aforementioned variables. An index-based selection was done in the hybrid populations employing three traits, yield, 100-bean weight and the post-zygotic fertility (FF). The performance of the selected hybrids was then compared to those of the best parental control lines in each trial. The hybrid populations yielded 22–47% more than the maternal lines, but hybrids showed significantly more sterility than the parental control lines. Selection in the hybrid populations using the three selected traits led to significant genetic gain for yield and dry weight of 100 beans, and insignificant gain for fertility (FF). When selected on the basis of fertility alone, increase in yield and 100-bean weight were not obtained within the hybrid populations. By applying selection on yield and 100-bean weight, the selected hybrids produced 11–47% higher yields than the best line along with significantly higher or identical 100-bean weight and performed identically for fertility. The yield performance of hybrids between the Latin American material and the wild Sudan–Ethiopian material calls for further selection effort for improving beverage quality.     

Analysis of an incomplete diallel cross among three ssp. tuberosum varieties and seven long-day adapted ssp. andigena clones of the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Summary The main aim of the experiment was to study the behaviour of seven long-day adapted clones of Solanum tuberosum ssp. andigena (A) and three varieties of S. tuberosum ssp. tuberosum (T) in an incomplete diallel cross. The four groups of crosses, TxT, TxA, AxT and AxA, held 2, 12, 20 and 21 populations, respectively. Eleven of the intersubspecific crosses were exact reciprocals. Thirty random clones per population were grown as second clonal generation in an incomplete block design with four replications in plots of two plants per clone in 1980, the parents included in many plots. Data were recorded on ten characters.The results showed that group TxA gave the highest tuber yield and AxT the second highest. The F-values indicated highly significant genotypic effects for all characters in all populations. The mean genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV), were the highest for group AxA for all characters. The ANOVA, based on population means showed significant mean squares for general combining abilities (GCA) and for differences of reciprocalls for all characters; the specific combining ability (SCA) mean squares were significant only for date of emergence, plant height and haulm type. Almost all GCA effects of the parents were significant positive or negative. Several populations showed also significant SCA effects. The correlations between the GCA effects and the parental values were of about the same magnitude as the heritabilities; those between the population means and the midparental values were slightly lower.Compared to the midparental values, most populations showed significant positive heterosis for date of emergence, haulm type, number of tubers and under water weight; all populations had significant negative heterosis for mean tuber weight and nearly all for plant height and general impression. All populations from groups TxT and AxA had significant negative heterosis for tuber yield and so had 13 out of the 20 populations from group AxT, while seven of the 12 from group TxA showed significant positive and four significant negative heterosis. The average heterosis for tuber yield of group TxT was –11%, of TxA 3.4%, of AxT–9% and of AxA–18%. The highest mean tuber yields were obtained from crosses with a very high yielding A-parent as female, while the heterosis was negative. Though significant differences between the 11 reciprocals occurred for all characters, consistent differences occurred only for tuber yield. Averaged over the 11 crosses the TxA populations outyielded their exact reciprocals by 10.7%. For the highest tuber yields in A-T crosses, therefore, the tuberosum cytoplasm seems to be preferable. By contrast for a high male fertility the andigena cytoplasm is preferable.     

Heat tolerance in food legumes as evaluated by cell membrane thermostability and chlorophyll fluorescence techniques

Summary The genotypic variation for heat tolerance in chickpea, groundnut, pigeonpea, and soya bean was evaluated by testing membrane stability and photosystem (PSII) function in leaves at high temperatures. The legumes could be ranked from heat-tolerant to sensitive in the order: groundnut, soya bean, pigeonpea and chickpea. The damage to cell membranes (as reflected by an increased leakage of electrolytes) and PS II (as reflected by a decrease in the ratio of variable to maximum fluorescence) was less, and recovery from heat stress was faster in groundnut than in other crops. Prior exposure of plants to 35°C for 24h led to a reduced leakage of electrolytes at high temperatures in all crops but the differences among legumes were consistent. Substantial genotypic variation for heat tolerance was found in all legumes. Membrane injury was negatively associated with specific leaf weight in groundnut (r=–0.69^**) and soya bean (r=–0.56^**) but not in the pulses. Electrolyte leakage and fluorescence ratio were negatively correlated in all legumes. The potential use of electrolyte leakage and fluorescence tests as screening procedures for breeding heat-tolerant legumes is discussed.Abbreviations RI relative injury - Fo initial fluorescence - Fm maximum fluorescence - Fv variable fluorescence - PS II photosystem II - PAR photosynthetically active radiation     

Cold tolerance in beans (Phaseolus spp.) as analyzed by their exotherms

Summary Cold tolerance of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), runner bean (P. coccineus L.) and several bean lines was evaluated under artificial conditions. Seedlings were exposed to –6°C gradually, then to –12°C rapidly in the growth chamber with copper-constantan thermocouples attached to various parts of the plant. Seedling freezing curves with exotherms were then analyzed. Three basic parameters were measured: time required for exotherm to appear, temperature of the appearance of the exotherm and temperature rise caused by the exotherm. Exotherm appearance in beans was related to freezing injury and death of the seedlings. Exotherms of the common bean variety Bush Blue Lake 92 seedling recorded at the stem, primary leaf base, tip and petiole and true leaf appeared at the same time, however their shape was different. Exotherms of stem appeared at higher temperature than those of primary leaves. Their shapes always followed the same pattern. Beans with cold tolerance were found to produce exotherms later than susceptible ones. Exposing 3 weeks old bean seedlings to 12°C delayed the time of exotherm appearance in the cold susceptible cultivar Bush Blue Lake 92. Some plants survived 2 hours exposure to –6°C in the growth chamber.     

Selection of young barley plants for tolerance to high soil acidity in relation with some agronomic characteristics of mature plants

Summary In four segregating populations of barley, grown in a naturally highly acid soil good plants and less vigorous ones were marked in a 3–4 leaf stage of development.Some agronomic characters of mature plants were studied in relation with the level of tolerance to high soil acidity of their progenies when tested in a seedling stage in a laboratory method.As compared with the good groups the reductions proved highly significant viz. 60% for mean number of tillers per plant, 25% for average culm length, 35% for mean number of kernels per spike and about 12% for 1000-grain weight.On the average more than 95% of the good plants showed a high level of tolerance to high soil acidity, indicating a close correlation between low-pH tolerance and agronomic performance.Although a rather high percentage (40%) of the progenies among the plants marked as bad was found to be tolerant, those lines showed a poor general performance.This goes to show that selection for tolerance to high soil acidity before flowering is an advisable procedure, without the risk of including sensitive lines or losing otherwise valuable genotypes.This study was carried out during a fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture.     

Transmission of somaclonal variation in wheat

Summary Transmission of somaclonal variation was studied in callus derived (SC1) plants of wheat, Triticum aestivum L. Second (SC2), third (SC3) and fourth (SC4) generations were compared with those obtained from embryo culture (E1-E4). SC2 generation had significantly lower grain yield (–37.3%), reduced thousand kernel weight (–7.8%) and shorter height (–2.1%) than that of E2, and included 5.7% seed-sterile and 15.0% partially seed-sterile plants. SC3 generation showed reduced yield (–12.6%), lower thousand kernel weight (–4.9%) and shorter plant height (–1.9%) than E3 generation. SC4 progeny of a short height, partially sterile SC1 variant included aberrant plants: a haploid, few aneuploids, mixoploids, some showing multiploidy, spindle abnormalities, multivalents, bridges and fragments, and tillers having supernumerary spikes with branched rachis. Somaclonal variation resulted from genome instability in callus, and likely involved transposable elements.     

Breeding two base populations of perennial ryegrass

Summary A program designed to develop two base populations of perennial ryegrass was initiated in 1985 in Galicia. Multitrait mass selection by a base index was practised in two genetic resources groups of wild Galician populations. Plants selected were intercrossed and the two resulting base populations (F and G) were evaluated in two locations at the spaced plant level and in plot trials with the aim of estimating the genetic parameters and the possibilities for future breeding. The two populations did not show significant differences from commercial cultivars. Production characters had low heritabilities (0.01–0.32) in both locations. Seasonal yields had medium to high family heritabilities (0.36–0.73). For the economic traits chosen, the expected genetic advances were important in both populations for summer and autumn growth in Mabegondo and spring and summer-autumn dry matter yield (1^st and 3^rd year) in Puebla de Brollón. Expected genetic advance for early spring growth was 0.62 in population F. In the autumn of 1991 equal numbers of plants, selected at each location by combined family and mass selection from each of these populations, were planted in two polycrosses with the aim of improving the genetic basis and adaptation of these populations.     

The association of sexuality with plant traits and tuber yield in white yam

Summary One 3-to 5-year clonal and two recent seedling-derived populations of white yam cultivars were grown and studied for the association of sex, flowering intensity, number of fruits and seed yield with vegetative characters and tuber yield. Yield was lowest in non-flowering plants and increased in the following order: male, monoecious and female plants; with females yielding almost twice as much as the non-flowering plants. The plants produced from small tuber setts, with higher leaf virus infection, low plant leafiness either had low flowering intensity, fewer fruits and seeds or even failed to flower. The sequence and timing of vegetative and reproductive processes in relation to the difference in yield between male and female plants is discussed. There is a strong indication that the intensity of flowering and fruiting is lower in plants from previous vegetative propagation compared to recent seedling-serived clones.