Open AccessGenetics of Apical Dominance in Plantain (Musa spp., AAB Group) and Improvement of Suckering Behavior
Author(s) -
Rodomiro Ortíz,
D Vuylsteke
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of the american society for horticultural science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.408
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 2327-9788
pISSN - 0003-1062
DOI - 10.21273/jashs.119.5.1050
Subject(s) - biology , sucker , apical dominance , hybrid , perennial plant , botany , dominance (genetics) , bud , ploidy , gibberellic acid , horticulture , vegetative reproduction , allele , penetrance , shoot , gene , phenotype , genetics , germination , anatomy
Apical dominance, i.e., the inhibition of lateral bud growth due to growth substances released by the terminal bud, has been considered as a limiting factor for the perennial productivity of plantains ( Musa spp., AAB group). Segregation ratios in F 1 and F 2 plantain-banana hybrids suggest that inheritance of apical dominance is controlled by a major recessive gene, ad . The dominant Ad allele improved the suckering of plantain-banana hybrids, as measured by the height of the tallest sucker at flowering and harvest. At harvest, the ratoon crop of the diploid and tetraploid hybrids had completed 70% to 100% of its vegetative development, whereas the ratoon of the plantain parents, due to high apical dominance, was only at 50% of total pseudostem growth. Sucker growth rates are generally the result of gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) levels, and it is suggested that the Ad gene regulates GA 3 production. However, the Ad gene has incomplete penetrance, genetic specificity, and variable expressivity. Increased frequency of the Ad gene and a commensurate improvement in the suckering behavior of the diploid populations may be achieved by phenotypic recurrent selection.