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Relative Efficiencies of Four Self-Pollination Techniques in Alfalfa¹

We compared four techniques to self-pollinate alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. The techniques included tripping flowers with a toothpick, tripping flowers with a toothpick having an emery paper tip, tripping flowers into a folded cardboard tag containing pollen, and rolling racemes between the fingers. Each of three people performed all four techniques on the same 60 plants. All plants had normal pollen production. The differences in relative effectiveness (average seeds per flower tripped) for the four techniques averaged over all personnel were not statistically different. A comparison of the relative efficiency (seed per man-hour) indicated that rolling racemes between the fingers was about three times more efficient than the other methods of self-pollination.

Key Words: Seed production techniques

² Research Geneticist (present address: Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101) and Agronomist, Research Assistant (present address: Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton, Georgia 31794).

Received for publication August 3, 1970.