Seedling Vigor of Selected Alysicarpus Accessions¹

Abstract

Alyceclover [Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC.] is a tropical legume considered to have poor seedling vigor. This characteristic often leads to difficulties in establishing new pastures. Ten Alysicarpus breeding lines were evaluated for early seedling growth and compared to common alyceclover. Field experiments in 1984 and 1985 at Gainesville, FL, on Arredondo fine sand (loamy, siliceous, hyperthermic Grossarenic Paleudult) detected a high degree of variation among genotypes for seedling vigor as measured by mean plant dry weights 3 and 6 weeks after planting. One line, FL‐3, was consistently more vigorous than common alyceclover. Several other lines (FL‐1, FL‐2, FL‐5, FL‐6, and FL‐11) were equal to or slightly less vigorous than the common type. Four lines (FL‐4, FL‐7, FL‐9, and FL‐10) had an unacceptable level of vigor. Within this collection of germplasm, there was a high correlation between seed weight and plant weight (r = 0.62 – 0.79). Visual ratings of seedling vigor taken 4 days after germination were also highly correlated with plant weights (r = 0.57 – 0.93). Seed weights and visual seedling vigor ratings may be useful characteristics for preliminary screening in future work. Broad‐sense heritabilities for plant dry weights were high (68–77%), indicating that seedling vigor may be under the control of genetic systems. It is suggested that improvement of alyceclover seedling vigor could be made via selection.