Rl. Fery et Pd. Dukes, GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF THE GREEN COTYLEDON TRAIT IN SOUTHERNPEA [VIGNA-UNGUICULATA (L) WALP], Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 119(5), 1994, pp. 1054-1056
A series of greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine t
he inheritance of the green cotyledon trait exhibited by the recently
released southernpea 'Bettergreen' and to elucidate the genetic relati
onship between the green cotyledon trait and the green testa trait exh
ibited by 'Freezegreen'. Evaluation of parental, F1, F2, and backcross
populations of the crosses 'Bettergreen' x 'Carolina Cream' and 'Bett
ergreen' x 'Kiawah' indicated that the green cotyledon trait is condit
ioned hy a single recessive gene. Evaluation of parental and F2 popula
tions of the cross 'Bettergreen' x 'Freezegreen' indicated that this g
ene is neither allelic to nor linked with the gt gene that conditions
the green testa trait in 'Freezegreen'. The color of seeds harvested f
rom plants homozygous for both the green cotyledon and green testa gen
es was superior and more uniform than the color of seeds harvested fro
m either 'Bettergreen' or 'Freezegreen' plants. We propose that the ne
wly discovered gene be designated green cotyledon and symbolized gc. S
eeds containing embryos homozygous for the gc gene are easily identifi
ed. The ability to select in the seed stage should greatly facilitate
efforts to backcross. The gc gene into cream-, pinkeye-, and blackeye-
type cultivars.