Importance of sepals in fruit and seed development in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Abstract

The green sepals in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) persist till almost the time of fruit ripening. Since the plant retains very few leaves and the fruits are better exposed to receive sunlight, the green sepals may be important in fruit and seed development. Influence of the removal of 0, 1, 3 and 5 sepals on the day of anthesis, 7, 15 and 25 days after anthesis on fruit and seed development was examined. Excision of all the fine sepals on the day of anthesis stopped fruit and seed development in the varieties M 10 and NP (RR) 45 but in Mukta the reduction was about 55%. Removal of three sepals also decreased fruit growth in Mukta and NP (RR) 45. The effect of removal of sepals was more pronounced on the number of seeds per fruit than on seed weight. Sepals fixed 14CO2 and translocated 14C to seeds. However, the 14CO2 fixation was maximum at early stages of fruit development, whereas a higher percentage of the fixed 14C was translocated at later stages of growth. It is suggested that the sepal size in linseed could be a useful selection criterion.