Growth and Development of Sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia) Selections

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Abstract
Sicklepod (Cassia obtusifoliaL. ♯3CASOB) seed were obtained from 10 locations in nine southern states, and plants were grown in a nursery for 3 yr. In field experiments, plant height, seed per pod, number of seed per plant, and number of pods per plant varied among seed sources and years. The vegetative growth phase, as measured from emergence to the initiation of the first floral buds, was approximately 30 days shorter for plants grown from the Tennessee source than for those grown from seed collected in Alachua, FL, in all 3 yr. Hand-harvested seed from plants grown from the 10 seed sources that were planted in 1982 were planted beside the original source sicklepod seed in 1983, and both flowered at approximately the same time, indicating self-fertilization. Percent germination of hand-harvested sicklepod seed from the 10 sources ranged from 2 to 11% for 1981 and 3 to 23% for 1982.