Floral Initiation in Biloxi Soybean as Influenced by Grafting

Abstract

1. Biloxi plants or parts of Biloxi plants, subjected continuously to daily photoperiods of 17 or more hours, were used as one component of all grafts reported in this work. Plants of this variety do not develop sufficient flower-forming stimulus on long photoperiods to cause floral initiation. They therefore served to determine whether or not a flower-inducing stimulus was transmitted across the graft unions. They are referred to as receptors and the plant or plant parts grafted to them as the donors. 2. The donor components were from Agate, Batorawka, or Biloxi varieties of Soja max, or from Red Kidney, Plentiful, Black Valentine, or Dwarf Horticulture varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris. 3. Methods of grafting employed were approach grafting of stems, splice grafting of petioles, splice grafting of stems, and bud grafting. 4. A total of 490 Agate-Biloxi approach grafts were made and all formed strong unions. Approximately 50 per cent of the Biloxi receptors formed flower primordia. This percentage was some...