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Seed yield and biomass allocation in Sorghum bicolor and F 1 and backcross generations of S . bicolor × S . halepense hybrids

1994; Canadian Science Publishing; Volume: 72; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1139/b94-062

1480-3305

Jon K. Piper, Peter Kulakow,

Botany and Plant Ecology Studies

The Land Institute is developing perennial grains to be grown in prairie-like mixtures. One approach involves the development of a perennial grain sorghum by crossing tetraploid Sorghum bicolor with wild S. halepense to combine high seed yield with overwintering ability via rhizome production. We grew tetraploid S. bicolor, F 1 hybrid (BC 0 ), and two backcross generations (BC 1 and BC 2 ) in a randomized block design to examine total biomass, seed yield, and allocation to plant parts within and across generations. Root, rhizome, stem and leaf, and total biomass decreased from the BC 0 to BC 2 to S. bicolor generations, whereas panicle mass, seed mass, and reproductive allocation were lowest in the BC 0 generation (p < 0.05, ANOVA). Mean seed mass (g ∙ plant −1 ) was 39.1 in the BC 0 , 107.3 in the BC 1 , 84.1 in the BC 2 , and 92.7 for the S. bicolor parent, which translated into yields of 171.9, 471.6, 396.7, and 407.5 g ∙ m −2 , respectively. Reproductive allocation varied from 14.7% in BC 0 to 28.9% in BC 2 compared with 33.5% in S. bicolor. Mean allocation to rhizomes was 2.71% in BC 0 but negligible in BC 1 and BC 2 . There was no relationship between rhizome mass and seed mass within any generation, but there was a positive correlation between total plant mass and rhizome mass in BC 0 . We divided the BC 0 population into four groups with respect to rhizome production and found no significant differences among the groups in plant size or seed yield. Within each generation, reproductive allocation was inversely related to culm mass. The lack of an apparent trade-off between allocation to rhizome versus allocation to seed within any generation supports the possibility of combining within a population high seed yield and production of perennating belowground organs. Key words: backcross, hybrid, perennial grains, reproductive allocation, rhizome, seed mass, Sorghum bicolor, Sorghum halepense.