ISSN:
1439-0523
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Berseem clover Trifolium alexandrinum L. is an annual forage legume commonly grown in pure stands and in grass mixtures in the Medi-terranean basin. Six populations were naturally cross-pollinated in 1990 and 1991 by a half-sib breeding method. In 1992 and 1993. 54 half-sib maternal plants, six original populations, and six advanced populations were field evaluated for forage (short cycle, harvest made at seven or eight inlernodes: long cycle, harvested at flowering) and seed yield (no forage harvest) in experiments at the Forage Crop Institute at Foggia, Italy (typical Mediterranean location). Genetic variability, narrow-sense herilability, genetic and phenotypic correlations among forage and seed yield component trails were investigated. The genetic variance in dry matter among maternal half-sib populations in short cycle was 51% greater than in long cycle. Narrow-sense heritabilily was 35% higher in short cycle than long cycle for dry matter and 26% higher for seed weight than seed yield. The magnitude of the genetic variance components and genetic correlations suggested that selection among plants of maternal half-sib populations would be more effective for improving dry matter in short than in long cycle harvests. The selection applied in the study was not effective for increasing seed yield per se however, the trait may be increased by selecting indirectly for seed weight.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0523.1998.tb02207.x
