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Interspecific Hybridization between Red Clover and Trifolium Alpestre Using in Vitro Embryo Rescue

Dep. of Agronomy and Horticulture, New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM 88003
Citrus Res and Education Ctr., Univ. of Florida, 700 Experiment Station Rd., Lake Alfred, FL 33850

Sandra Berger, Norman L. Taylor and Glenn B. Collins^*

Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546

^* Corresponding author.

Red clover, Trifolium pratense L. (2n=2x=14), is an important forage legume worldwide that has its usefulness limited by a lack of persistence. Hybridization with related perennial species would offer the opportunity to introgress persistence and other new, useful characters into red clover. This study was aimed at the hybridization of red clover with T. alpestre L., a diploid (2n =2x= 16) perennial species. An in vitro embryo rescue procedure, developed previously to obtain wide hybrids of red clover, was used in this study with minor modifications in two of the four culture media. In one experiment, immature embryos were obtained from 3% of the cross-pollinated flowers, and a single F₁ hybrid line of T. alpestre x T. pratense was successfully recovered following embryo culture. A subsequent experiment failed to yield additional hybrid plants. The hybrid resembled T. alpestre more strongly than the paternal parent, red clover. Paper chromatographic separation of nitrogenous compounds from root tip samples provided evidence that the hybrid expressed biochemical characteristics of the paternal parent. The hybrid exhibited the expected somatic chromosome number of 15, and it was functionally sterile in both male and female floral parts. This new hybrid combination may be useful for the future improvement of red clover, if the infertility barrier can be overcome.

Received for publication October 28, 1991.