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Cytoplasmic Male-Sterility in Flax: Restorer Gene Frequency and Degree of Corolla Opening¹

A cytoplasmic male-sterile flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) line was crossed with 1,455 entries from the USDA World Flax Collection. We determined the frequency of restorer genes in the collection and the possibility of using this type of sterility to develop a random mating breeding population to mix germplasm. Because 1,155 of the lines (79%) are sterility maintainers and because some natural field crossing occurs in flax, this sterility system should allow random mating flax populations to be developed for the first time. A second objective was to identify sources of genes that condition the production of open-corolla, male-sterile flowers in plants containing the sterile cytoplasm. This factor has prevented the use of this male-sterility system to produce commercial flax hybrids. Thirty accessions were identified as possible sources of genes for this trait. It appears that breeding systems can be used to develop male-sterile lines that produce normal open flowers accessible to insect pollination. Plant age affected degree of corolla opening and male-fertility of the F₁ plants. Average corolla opening decreased from 13.97 to 8.8 mm in I0 weeks for plants expressing this trait, while the number of F₁ plants producing F₂ seed increased from 155 to 302. Stability of both traits varied from line to line and should be of concern to breeders who use this form of sterility in flax improvement.

Key Words: Linum usitatissimum L. • Germplasm • Flower opening • Breeding

² Research geneticists, USDA Southwestern Great Plains Research Center, Bushland, TX 79012, and Fargo, ND 58102.

Received for publication April 16, 1978.