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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #175835
Title: VARIATION IN REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS AND SEED PRODUCTION IN THE USDA GARLIC GERMPLASM COLLECTION.

Author
item Jenderek, Maria
item Hannan, Richard

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/30/2003
Publication Date: 6/3/2004
Citation: Jenderek, M.M., Hannan, R.M. Variation in reproductive characteristics and seed production in the USDA garlic germplasm collection. HortScience. 2004. V. 39(3). P. 485-488.

Interpretive Summary: Diverse garlic genetic types have proven to be essential for true seed production in this crop. To date, fertile lines in garlic germplasm collections have not been characterized for breeders and researchers, and information on plant characteristics associated with seed producing plants is very limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate reproductive characters and true seed production capacity in the USDA garlic germplasm collection. Flowering traits were evaluated, and it was found that some lines in the USDA collection have the capacity to produce viable seed. Seed production in the germplasm evaluated is adequate to initiate garlic breeding projects.

Technical Abstract: Diverse garlic germplasm has proven to be essential for production of true seed. Yet, fertile accessions in garlic germplasm collections have not been characterized for breeders and researchers, and information on morphological characteristics associated with seed producing plants is very limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate reproductive characters and true seed production capacity in the USDA garlic germplasm collection. Most stable traits, such as flower stem appearance, opening ability of spathe, level of difficulty to remove bulbils, teal color, umbel shape, and the number of flowers per umbel were similar across populations evaluated. Other characteristics including position of stigma, tepal closure, pollen viability, time of flowering, scape senescence rate, and number of seeds produced by individual plants varied within accessions evaluated. Of 47 accessions, 19 produced true seeds (from 48.5 to 1.5 seeds per plant) in the Central Valley of California. Seed production in the germplasm evaluated is adequate to initiate garlic breeding projects.