Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
2Present address: Graduate student in Genetics, University of California at Davis, U.S.A.
1This work forms a part of a M.S. dissertation submitted to the post graduate school, Indian Agric. Res. Inst., New Delhi.
Some unusual panicles were observed in the F3 population of Pennisetum typhoides during the monsoon season of 1968. Three distinct types of behaviour of branching in panicles were found, one having divided into four branches (three of the same length and one was relatively short), the second having branched into five (four of the same length and shape and one was shorter), the third one divided into two as in Eleusine coracona.
These three panicles were derivatives of cross combinations (D4 x S 530) F7 x(D2 x IP 81) F6, (D2 x IP 81) F7 x (D2 x IP 81)F7 and (D2 x IP81)F7 X (D2 x IP 81 × IP 81)F6, respectively. (D = dwarfing gene, IP=Accession Pennisetum). The most important feature of these branched panicles were that they had grains like that of normal panicle and therefore are likely to be more productive than their unbranched counterparts. It is not known whether inbreeding has some role in releasing these variants. However, occurrence of such types is reported for the first time in this crop and may have utility for improving the productivity of each panicle.
