Panicle vs. spike as secondary sex traits of tassel and ear

The normal structure of the tassel is that of a panicle, and that for the ear is a spike, because this is the most efficient arrangement for their sexual functions. But as most corn breeders are aware, certain variants have a single-spike tassel and a branched or panicle-type ear. Usually such variants retain the normal structure in one of the unisexual inflorescences and just extend this structure into that of the other sex. We have intercrossed the spike-tassel type with the panicle ear type to determine if through recombination we can obtain a reversal in sex programming for inflorescence structure.

Walton C. Galinat

Please Note: Notes submitted to the Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter may be cited only with consent of the authors.

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