Cytology and Breeding Behavior of Selected Plants of Poa pratensis

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Abstract
Germination studies, carried on in soil in pans, and in a seed germinator, indicated wide average differences among plants of P. pratensis in the number or seeds set and also in seed viability. Although germination percentages of a few plants were < 10%, most plants produced seed of good viability. The poor seed set of some plants was due to frequent collapse of the developing macrosporocyte during or just after meiosis. Significant differences in the amt. of such sterility were detd. for between-progeny comparisons. Plants within a given progeny were significantly different among members in one progeny, that is, 72. 44 progenies from as many plants of 4 related parental families were grown. The frequencies of aberrant plants among the 2d generation individuals varied from 0 to 100%. There did not appear to be any direct relation between the morph. characteristics of parent plants and the breeding behavior of their progenies. This also appears true for other characters, such as seed set, germination, etc. Globular inclusions occurred in the developing microsporocytes of all plants. These were particularly prominent during anaphase and telophase stages, although they were evident in all stages from prophase through the quartets. Highly significant differences in the frequency of laggards were usually found in microsporocytes. Certain anomalies among developing ovules and microsporocytes were observed and figured. Their origin was not detd.

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