FERTILITY OF AUTOTETRAPLOID VARIETIES AND HYBRIDS OF BARLEY

Abstract

This study was conducted from 1952 to 1958. Most of the autotetraploids were obtained by immersing germinated diploid seed in a 0.1 per cent aqueous solution of colchicine for 2 hours. Selection for fertility within the progenies of the C3 and C4 generation of autotetraploid hybrids increased the mean per cent fertility of the C4 generation by 8 per cent and the C5 by 4 per cent. Fertility studies of artificially-induced autotetraploids of several barley varieties showed that two-rowed autotetraploids were more fertile than six-rowed types. In all cases the fertility of autotetraploids was lower than diploids.