Articles containing the keyword 'ideotypes'

There is some evidence to support the hypothesis that crown form of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) can be inherited either mono- or polygenically. In Finland, a narrow, horizontal whorl-layer structure is striking in about one half of the offspring of a genotype E 1101, ”Kanerva pine”. The offspring are characterized by a narrow crown, short and thin branches at an angle of 90° to the stem, minimal tapering and by numerous long, lateral shoots, long needles and the common occurrence of three-needled fascicles among the dwarf shoots. These features are connected to a high growth rate, a high harvest index and to tortuosity of the stem. It is suggested that this complex of characters is determined by a single dominant gene.

In this study, several offspring of the E 1101 were classified into three form types in seven sets of progeny test data, including progenies of various ages having E 1101 as either maternal or paternal parent as well as open pollinated progenies of second-generation offspring. A segregation close to 1:1 was found both in the first and in the second-generation progenies when wilds and intermediates were combined and compared with Kanervas. The result indicates that the three types of Kanerva form can be due to a single dominant allele (K). Kanervas are heterozygous (Kk) for the allele and wilds are recessive homozygotes (kk) resulting 1:1 segregation in their progenies. However, there were also remarkable deviations from the expected distribution. The differences as well as the inheritance pattern are discussed.

The PDF includes an abstract in Finnish.

• Pöykkö, E-mail: tp@mm.unknown
• Velling, E-mail: pv@mm.unknown

The paper introduces different ways plant physiology research can avail the process of tree improvement. The breeding of tree cultivars that efficiently produce a particular wood product or amenity will be an important aspect of forest management. What physiologist can provide to breeders and genetic engineers is the opportunity to move their work from empirical level towards a more theoretical level, and help to make breeding more predictable and more precise in its objectives. The areas of research discussed in the paper are biotechnology, flowering, selection criteria, adaptability and application of ideotypes.

• Dickmann, E-mail: dd@mm.unknown