HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hill, R. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Hill, R. R., Jr. Agricola Articles by Hill, R. R.

Heterosis in Population Crosses of Alfalfa¹

A partial diallel cross with 32 parental lines of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., was evaluated to determine genetic variability and heterosis expressed for forage yield when pest-resistant, low-yielding parents were crossed with noninbred, vigorous germplasm. The parental lines included eight half-sib family seed lines from two commercial cultivars, ‘Apalachee’ and ‘Arc,’ and from two pest-resistant experimental populations, MSA and MSB. Progenies from the intercross of each of the parental lines were also included in the experiment. Significant mean squares for cultivars from which the parental lines were derived and for lines in cultivars were observed for the intercrosses of the parental lines and for general combining ability. In both cases, the mean square for cultivars was more than 20 times larger than the mean square for lines in cultivars. Significant specific combining ability was not detected. Interactions between genetic effects and years generally were not significant. Crosses had significantly greater yield than the mean of the parental line intercrosses for each of the cultivar combinations. Generally, crosses with lines from MSA or MSB as one of the parents yielded significantly less than crosses between lines from Apalachee and Arc, and crosses between lines from MSA and MSB yielded significantly less than crosses from any other cultivar combination. The intercrosses of parental lines from MSA had greater average yield than those from MSB, but parental lines from MSA had lower combining ability than those from MSB.

Key Words: Medicago sativa L. • Forage yield • Diallel cross

² Research agronomist, USDA-ARS, and adjunct professor of plant breeding, The Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA 16802.

Received for publication April 11, 1982.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Sakiroglu and E. C. Brummer Little Heterosis between Alfalfa Populations Derived from the Midwestern and Southwestern United States Crop Sci., November 7, 2007; 47(6): 2364 - 2371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. S. Bhandari, C. A. Pierce, L. W. Murray, and I. M. Ray Combining Abilities and Heterosis for Forage Yield among High-Yielding Accessions of the Alfalfa Core Collection Crop Sci., March 1, 2007; 47(2): 665 - 671. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Riday and E. C. Brummer Heterosis of Agronomic Traits in Alfalfa Crop Sci., July 1, 2002; 42(4): 1081 - 1087. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Riday and E. C. Brummer Forage Yield Heterosis in Alfalfa Crop Sci., May 1, 2002; 42(3): 716 - 723. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]