The Reproductive System of a Lolium rigidum Gaud. Population from Sardinia and its Implications for Breeding*

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Abstract
In order to establish an appropriate breeding programme, the reproductive system of a population of Lolium rigidum Gaud, from Sardinia was analyzed to determine the mechanisms operational in this species. A dual approach was adopted of genotype assay, exploiting the polymorphism at the Pgi‐2 locus, and an assessment of the effects of inbreeding on agronomic characters.The statistical analysis showed highly significant differences for the number of plants due to selfing among the 35 progenies obtained by controlled crossing of genotypes homozygous for different alleles at the Pgi‐2 locus. The greatest inbreeding effect was on dry matter yield. Although at a bulk population level the species is outbreeding, highly self‐compatible plants can be found within this naturally‐derived population.