Possible Correlations Concerning Position of Seeds in the Pod

Abstract

1. The greatest viability in Henderson Lima beans is associated with the seeds that are borne in the middle of the pods. 2. Three-seeded pods make up more than four-fifths of the crop; 3-seeded and 4-seeded pods are more numerous in the second of the two field harvests of ripe pods. 3. Seeds from the middle of the pod produce a much larger number of pods than do seeds from the base or tip. 4. The heaviest seeds are produced in 3-seeded pods, and the lightest in 4-seeded pods. 5. The seed weights make a continuous rising series from the base to the tip for all types of pods. 6. The first harvest yields lighter seeds than does the second harvest in each pod position. 7. The seeds associated with aborts are heavier than are those in full pods in each type of pod, and each position in the pod. 8. The abortiveness is less in the first than in the second harvest, and is least in the rows grown from seeds from the middle of the pods. 9. Abortiveness is chiefly in the basal position and decreases regularly from the base to the tip of the pod. 10. The position of the pod that yields the greatest weight of seed is associated with the lowest percentage of abortiveness.