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Environmental Factors and Plant Phenotype Affect Alfalfa Floret

Dep. of Agronomy and Range Science, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616

^* Corresponding author.

Extent of floret tripping influences alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seed yields. Our objectives were to determine if environmental factors influenced ease of tripping and if clones differing in ease-of-tripping phenotype affected the frequency of floret tripping in the field. Experiments were conducted in the field, in growth chambers, and in the greenhouse to determine the effect of time of day, temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture on ease of tripping. Frequency of tripping and seed yield were evaluated on easy- and hard-to-trip clones in the field at Davis, CA. Florets on the hard-to- trip clones were easier to trip midday than early morning. Time of day did not affect ease of tripping of the easy-to-trip clones. Shifting temperature from 18 to 32 °C resulted in easier-to-trip florets than when temperature was shifted from 32 to 18 °C (P 0.05). Relative humidity did not influence ease of tripping. Florets tended to be easier to trip (P 0.07) under high soil moisture conditions. In the field, a greater percentage of florets was tripped on the easy-to- trip phenotype (52.0%) than on the hard-to-trip phenotype (22.6%) (P 0.01). Manipulating ease of tripping through selection and breeding should be more successful than management of environmental factors influencing ease of tripping. Development of cultivars with florets that trip easily may increase alfalfa seed yield.

Received for publication April 17, 1989.