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Cytological and Fertility Characteristics of Some Hybrid Bermudagrass Cultivars 1
Author(s) -
Hanna W. W.,
Burton G. W.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1977.0011183x001700020003x
Subject(s) - cultivar , pollen , biology , sterility , hybrid , fertility , agronomy , cynodon , horticulture , botany , demography , population , sociology
Chromosomal behavior, embryo sac development, and seed set were studied in ‘Coastal’, ‘Coastcross‐l’, ‘Midland’, and ‘Suwannee’ bermudagrass, Cynodon dactyion L. Pets. (2n = 36). This information will be useful to plant breeders using these hybrids as parents for further improvement and it will give an indication of the potential contamination problem that may be expected from seed produced on the cultivars. Univalents or quadrivalents at metaphase I were observed in each cultivar. Triva. lents were observed only in Midland and Coastcross‐1. The mean number of bivalents per microsporocyte were 14.0, 16.6, 16.2, and 17.5 for Coastcross‐1, Coastal, Midland, and Suwannee, respectively. High male and female sterility was observed only in Coastcross‐1. Pollen stainability ranged from 2% for Coastcross.l to 88% for Suwannee. The range in size of Suwannee pollen was one‐half that of either of the other three bermudagrasses. Selfed seed set ranged from none on Coastcross‐1 to 11% on Coastal. Cross‐pollinated seed set was as high as 27% on Coastal.