Studies on the Breeding of Varieties Having Low Sucker Productivity in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. ). : I. Varietal Differences in Sucker-producing Characteristics of Tobacco

Abstract

The sucker-producing characteristics and their genetic variations were studied by measuring the number and dry weight of leaf axil suckers, classified here as ground and upstalk suckers, of 130 flue-cured and Japanese domestic air-cured tobacco cultivars grown in randomized block design with two replications in 1979. Data obtained from this study showed the range from 0.3 to 8.5 ground suckers per plant, from 0.10 to 8.42g per plant for their dry weight, from 2.1 to l0.7 upstalk suckers per plant and 0.62 to 23.47g for their dry weight. Matsukawa, Perevi, MC and other 27 cultivars produced many ground suckers, and BY 103, Virginia 115, Shiroenshu and other 28 cultivars produced a few ones. Cash, Consolation 402, Perevi and other 3 cultivars produced many upstalk suckers, and Odaruma, Virginia 115, BY 101 and other 8 cultivars produced a few ones. Varietal correlations among four characters, that is, the number and dry weight of ground and the upstalk suchers were of appreciable value. Heritabilities calculated from the analysis of variance were 0.784. for the number of ground suckers, 0.873 for the dry weight of ground suckers. 0.732 for the number of upstalk suckers and 0.676 for the dry weight of upstalk suckers.