International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
Abstract
In the segregating population from the cross Cajanus platycarpus × C. cajan ICPL 85010, significant variation in flower morphology was observed in F1BC3 progeny. Some of the flowers were found to be abnormally completely open. The percentage of abnormal flowers on each plant ranged from 5 to 86%. In these open flowers, the stamens were separate instead of forming a di-adelphous bundle as usually seen in pigeon pea. The filaments of each anther were separate from each other, giving a rubiaceous flower structure. The anthers in these open flowers did not dehisce even at flowering. Another morphology in the F1BC3 plants was abnormal too and anthers were not placed close to the stigma as seen in ICPL 85010. The pollen fertility ranged from 26 to 77% but in spite of high pollen fertility, none of the plants set seeds due to self pollination. Tripping the flowers did not release the pollen grains from the anthers, indicating that the anther walls were tough, unlike anthers in cultivated pigeon pea. Forced self pollination did not set seeds in these hybrids, but seeds were obtained when pollinated with ICPL 85010. In the interspecific cross C. cajan T-21 × Cajanus scarabaeoides, some of the BC1F2 plants showed free stamens that were all sterile, although the anther appeared normal
