GENETIC-VARIABILITY AND TRADEOFFS AMONG REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS IN WHITE CLOVER (TRIFOLIUM-REPENS)

There is much spatial and temporal variation for reproductive output i n white clover (Trifolium repens L.), yet little is known about the co ntrol of this variation or whether there exist tradeoffs among compone nts of seed yield. To examine these issues, seed yield components and vegetative biomass were measured on replicates of seven white clover g enotypes planted in a common garden plot. Significant genetic differen ces among clones were found for biomass and for five of seven reproduc tive characters, including number of inflorescences, number of florets per inflorescence, number of fruits per infructescence, number of (la te-maturing) seed per fruit, and seed weight in early-maturing fruits. Thus, there is considerable potential for natural or artificial selec tion to act on vegetative and reproductive characters in white clover. In addition to these genetic effects, we observed temporal variation for number of florets per inflorescence, number of fruits per infructe scence, and seed weight in late-maturing fruits. Finally, analyses of phenotypic, genetic, and microenvironmental correlation coefficients r evealed few pairs of traits with significant negative correlations. Th is suggests that few tradeoffs in resource allocation patterns existed for the phenotypic characters examined.