SEED PRODUCTION QUALITY IN TRIFOLIUM-BALANSAE AND TRIFOLIUM-RESUPINATUM - THE ROLE OF SEED COLOR

Seed production is a crucial factor determining the survival of the sm all seeded annual pasture legumes Trifolium balansae and T. resupinatu m, which are new to Australian farming systems. Work with other specie s suggests that seed colour may be an indicator for seed quality and h ardseededness, which play a role in successful establishment of plants al the start of the growing season. Seed of Trifolium balansae cv. Pa radana and T. resupinatum lines SA 12240, SA 14433 and cv. Kyambro, ha rvested directly from plants or retrieved from the seed bank, was inve stigated. Seed characteristics in all T. resupinatum lines were influe nced by colour; brown seed was mainly soft, but little was produce by plants in the field. The percentage of brown seed in the seed bank was positively related to the percentage of soft seed and varied througho ut the year. The difference between green and yellow T. resupinatum se ed was less pronounced. Yellow seed had a lower thousand seed weight a nd germinated more slowly. The formation of green or yellow seed by pl ants was found to be controlled by both environmental and genetic fact ors.