Estimates of heritability for,and relationships between,root and shoot characters of white clover. I. Replicated clonal material

Summary A total of 749 genotypes from a number of white clover (trifolium repens L.) cultivars and populations, many collected from dryland areas, were cloned and grown in field titles. Several morphological characters, including leaf size, number and diameter of large nodal roots (taproots), and proportion of root weight that was classified as taproot were measured. There was large variation between lines and genotypes for all characters measured, and differences between genotypes within lines are also reported. Broad sense heritability estimates were higher (>0.5) for leaflet width, petiole length and stolon diameter, than for all root character heritability estimates which were between 0.2 and 0.4.     

Intra-varietal variation for in vitro plant regeneration in the genus Trifolium

Summary Seedlings of Trifolium repens showed considerable variation with regard to the morphology and growth of their calli, and their ability for in vitro differentiation of shoots. One of the lines selected for regeneration in primary callus cultures also showed shoot formation from protoplasts. Somatic embryogenesis in callus cultures of T. pratense and T. arvense occurred only in selected seedling lines. This paper highlights the importance of screening a large number of plants within a cultivar of outbreeding species to achieve reproducible plant regeneration from tissue culture.     

Variation for reproductive and agronomic traits among T. repens × T. nigrescens third generation backcross hybrids in the field

Interspecific hybridisation with Trifolium nigrescens Viv. is a possible strategy to improve the reproductive potential of white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Following the development of a fertile F1 hybrid, three generations of backcrossing have been carried out usingT. repens as the recurrent parent. Vegetative characteristics, stolon growth and seed yield components of the backcross (BC) 2 and 3 generations, as well as the parental species were measured on spaced plants grown in the field. Leaf size and plant spread of the BC2 and BC3 generations were less than T. repens but there was no difference in plant fresh weight. Numbers of inflorescences per plant and florets per inflorescence of the backcrosses were greater than T. repens however this was not reflected indifferences in seed yield per plant asT. repens had more seeds per floret and per plant than the backcrosses. Differences in stolon length, the proportion of flowering nodes and the pattern of axillary bud development were observed between T. repens and the backcrosses. Significant variation among the BC 3 generation for vegetative and reproductive traits was observed. Individual plants among the BC 3 generation were identified that combine high forage yield, substantial inflorescence production and good fertility, and these will form the basis of further selection. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Genetic variability among elite red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) parents used in Chile as revealed by RAPD markers

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is one of the main forage species of temperate regions. Cultivars of red clover are heterogeneous which makes their genetic analysis difficult. We applied RAPDs (Random Amplifed Polymorphic DNA) in order to assess the genetic relationship and levels of genetic variability existing among a group of 16 elite red clover parents organised in four subsets of 4 parents each. Out of 55 primers 21 provided reproducible results. A total of 135 reliable and polymorphic RAPD bands were detected which were used to estimate genetic distances among pair-wise combinations of elite parents. Nei and Li's similarity values ranged from 0.60 to 0.77, with a mean of 0.66, which reflects a rather high genetic variability among the genotypes evaluated. Lower levels of genetic variability, as detected by polymorphic loci and mean heterogeneity values, were detected in a subset of parents selected for resistance to the stem nematode. Cluster analyses resolved the different sets of parents in a manner consistent with what is known from their breeding origins. An Analysis of Molecular Variance detected substantial levels of variation within subsets of parents. RAPDs represent a valuable source of genetic information for red clover breeding programmes. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structure and variation of subterranean clover populations from Sicily,Italy

Summary A collection of subterranean clover lines singled out from populations of the species Trifolium brachycalycinum and T. subterraneum collected in Sicily, Italy, was examined at two localities for flowering time and at one locality for oestrogen content and seed yield. The structure and variation of the populations of the two species were compared. The relationship between flowering time of the populations and some environmental features of their collection sites was examined to assess whether the maturity requirements of the two species were similar and to frame selection models focused on developing varieties of appropriate maturity. Populations of T. subterraneum were, on average, more complex than those of T. brachycalycinum, being characterized by higher number of lines per population and greater intra-population variation for flowering time, oestrogen content and seed yield. Furthermore, populations of T. subterraneum were, on average, about 15 days earlier than sympatric populations of T. brachycalycinum. Both the greater variation and the relative earliness of T. subterraneum occurred irrespective of the environments of origin of the populations. Inferences are drawn on the adaptive advantages that such features confer to T. subterraneum. Mean flowering time of the populations increased on increasing annual rainfall and altitude of the collection sites. However, the changes in maturity appeared almost exclusively related to variations in rainfall in T. subterraneum, while in T. brachycalycinum the effect of altitude was greater and that of rainfall less marked than in the former species.     

Variation for dry matter yield,seed yield and other agronomic traits in Ladino white clover landraces and natural populations

Summary A set of Ladino white clover ecotypes including the last available landraces and some natural populations collected from old permanent meadows, together with some white clover varieties of various origins, were evaluated as monocultures for dry matter (DM) and seed yield assessed in separate field experiments. Other agronomic traits were also recorded. The best performing variety, Espanso, was significantly outyielded by some ecotypes for DM and seed production. Compared to landraces, natural populations yielded on average far less seed but as much DM and tended towards higher persistence indicating that domestication of the native Ladino at the farm level only improved seed yield of the crop. Natural populations showed, besides lower values of most seed yield components, a distinct canopy architecture characterized by smaller leaves, longer internodes and denser stolons. Seed weight proved the best character discriminating between the two ecotype groups. Significant variation for most traits was found both among landraces, in which it was mostly relatable to differences among provenances, and among natural populations. The relations between the main multivariate patterns of phenotypic variation and a set of environment collecting variables suggested that evolutive adaptation to different agronomic practices was a major determinant of the overall variation found in landraces. Evidence is provided that a relevant part of the variation observed among ecotypes for some important traits could be genetic.Abbreviations DM dry matter - DMY dry matter yield - NRH number of ripe heads - NFH number of florets per head - PL petiole length - LS leaf size - IL internode length - NS number of stolons - PRO protein content - SY seed yield - TSW thousand seed weight - NSF number of seeds per floret - PCA principal components analysis - PC principal component     

氮锌复合作用对白三叶叶片叶绿体超微结构的影响*

 在砂培条件下，研究了不同水平氮锌配施对白三叶生长、叶片叶绿素含量和叶绿体超微结构的影响。结果表明，在缺锌条件下，随供氮水平增加，植株干物重、叶片叶绿素含量显著下降，氮锌配施表现为拮抗效应。在足量供锌条件下，中量供氮，植株干物重、叶片叶绿素含量高于低量供氮，氮锌配施表现为协同效应；与低水平供氮相比，当高水平供氮时，白三叶各组分干物重、叶片叶绿素含量显著下降， 氮锌配施表现为拮抗效应。白三叶叶片超显微结构表明，低锌条件下，随供氮水平增加，叶绿体结构变差，基粒及基粒片层、基质片层数量下降甚至解体，光合能力显著下降。足量供锌时，以中量供氮叶绿体基粒及基粒片层、基质片层数量最多，内部结构有序性最高，光合能力最强。叶绿体超显微结构变化与白三叶干物重、叶绿素含量变化趋势相一致。     

白三叶、多年生黑麦草和鸭茅光合生理生态特性研究

为研究白三叶、多年生黑麦草和鸭茅各生育期群落光合生理生态特性,探讨三者作为人工草地混播组合的生态适应性,用CI-310便携式光合仪测定了各生育期群落光合特性,并分析了硝酸还原酶活性(NRA)以及叶绿素含量的变化。结果表明:白三叶、多年生黑麦草和鸭茅光合生理生态指标互补优势明显,光合生理生态适应性较强,推测光合生理生态特性能够作为混播牧草搭配组合的重要参考指标;开花期,鸭茅群落同化CO2的净光合速率、同化CO2的光能利用效率(LUE)和同化CO2的水分利用效率(WUE)日平均值分别为17.9μmol/(m2.s),40.9mmol/mol和44.2 mmol/mol均显著高于多年生黑麦草和白三叶;开花期和成熟期LUE日变化曲线呈“V”字形,中午LUE较低,成熟期鸭茅的最高值可达54.5 mmol/mol,而最低值仅为15.1 mmol/mol;WUE各生育期日变化均呈逐渐下降的趋势,3种牧草WUE的差异主要表现在上午;白三叶硝酸还原酶活性在整个生育期均显著高于多年生黑麦草和鸭茅,而多年生黑麦草和鸭茅的差异不显著;分蘖期和开花期多年生黑麦草和鸭茅叶绿素a和b的含量高于白三叶,在枯黄期却相反。     

套种三叶草与不同施肥处理对温室黄瓜生长及土壤环境的影响

为了探索温室黄瓜有机栽培施肥模式,研究了套种三叶草与不同施肥处理对黄瓜产量、品质及土壤环境变化的影响。结果表明:施用70%的有机肥且套种白三叶草(Trifolium repens)的处理黄瓜单产较其他处理增加7.81%～18.86%;黄瓜中Vc含量较100%化肥和70%有机肥处理增加18.45%、6.85%,硝酸盐及亚硝酸盐含量比100%化肥处理分别下降9.72%、32.76%;且黄瓜从盛瓜期开始土壤速效养分含量显著增加,末瓜期土壤速效氮含量较其他处理增加幅度为21.46%～33.92%,速效钾含量增加20.13%～69.94%,速效磷含量增加7.5%～28.80%,并且种植白三叶草能显著提高黄瓜叶片中的氮、钾含量,有效地提高地表温度。从本试验结果看,施用70%的有机肥且套种三叶草是温室黄瓜有机栽培可选用的施肥方式。