Abstract
Nuclear genes have to a large extent been exploited in genetic cowpea improvement, but little is known about the effects of cytoplasmic mutations on agronomic traits. This study investigated the effect of cytoplasmic factors agronomic traits in crosses between two cytoplasmic mutants and some nuclear cowpea lines. The experiment was conducted at Department of Crop Protection Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan. A yellow variant derived from the sorting-out of mutant plastids of mixed cells lineage (IB-Y-Cyt.) was crossed to four normal green lines and a variegated mutant in all possible combinations. F 1 and reciprocal-F 1 progenies from the crosses and six generations comprising parents, F 1 , F 2 and their reciprocals from four selected crosses were evaluated in pots using Randomized Complete Block Design with four replicates. Data were collected on the following quantitative traits; days to flowering and ripe pod, pod length and seed traits. Data were analyzed using t -test and correlation coefficient analysis. Crosses involving the cytoplasmic mutants as female parents had negative effects on most of the traits studied. The mutant cytoplasms had negative effects on traits affecting the productive capacity of the plants as well as related traits in the F 1 generation, these effects in turn transcend to most of the quantitative traits leading to poor seed formation especially in the yellow cytoplasmic mutant. Keywords: Cytoplasmic mutation, Agronomic traits, Cowpea, Uniparental, Reciprocal differences
Highlights
Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. - a leguminous crop, is a self pollinating herbaceous annual, believed to have originated from Africa due to the great genetic diversity of its germplasm found in this region (Ng and Maréchal, 1985)
The mutant cytoplasms had negative effects on traits affecting the productive capacity of the plants as well as related traits in the F1 generation, these effects in turn transcend to most of the quantitative traits leading to poor seed formation especially in the yellow cytoplasmic mutant
In order to test for reciprocal differences among crosses of normal and cytoplasmic mutants of cowpea and effect on agronomic traits, hybridization was achieved using the method of Rachie et al, (1975), to obtain crosses in all possible combinations with reciprocals for the six parental lines
Summary
Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. - a leguminous crop, is a self pollinating herbaceous annual, believed to have originated from Africa due to the great genetic diversity of its germplasm found in this region (Ng and Maréchal, 1985). - a leguminous crop, is a self pollinating herbaceous annual, believed to have originated from Africa due to the great genetic diversity of its germplasm found in this region (Ng and Maréchal, 1985). It is an important source of protein for most people in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Breeding varieties to overcome or ameliorate many of these constraints has been a major goal of many cowpea breeding programmes (Rachie, 1985). Major efforts of plant breeders and geneticists have been focused on nuclear genes.
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