Inheritance of Selected Traits in Accessions of Vigna vexillata (L) a Rich of Australian and African Origin

Abstract

The inheritance of several traits in Vigna vexillata was studied for crosses involving accessions of African and Australian origin. Anthocyanin stem pigmentation, silver leaflet midrib, leaflet hirsuteness, presence of long hairs on the calyx lobes, black pod colour, speckled seed testa and twining stem habit all appeared to be conditioned by single completely dominant gene action, as was apparent resistance to powdery mildew. Width of the floral standard, peduncle length, number of seeds per pod, weight of 100 seeds, tuberous root dry weight, total plant dry weight and harvest indices for seed and tuberous roots all appeared to be quantitatively inherited, with moderate broad sense heritabilities. Leaflet shape, the primary distinguishing attribute between the varieties occurring in Australia, angustifolia and youngiana, appeared to be simply inherited. No difficulties were encountered in obtaining F₁ and backcross progenies in any crosses. Further, the inheritance of traits in progeny of Australian × African crosses appeared normal and, in the several instances where direct comparison was possible, similar to that observed in crosses within the Australian material.