After reporting on the stay-green character and its heterosis and heritability, we tried to find out the segregation pattern of stay green characteristics in an F2 generation. We investigated the segregation frequencies of stay-green score, DELS and fresh leaf number in F2 generations of about 150~200 plants with parents and F1 hybrids planted at the Crops Experiment Station field in 1992.

The frequency distribution of stay-green scores and DELS generally had a simple bi-modal pattern irrespective of planting dates, and the pattern of stay-green scores shifted to higher levels in later stages. Hi39/KS75 had the longest DELS and it showed highest stay-green characteristics at 67 DAS. KS75, which was selected at our Crops Experiment Station in 1988, was considered a useful material in breeding for stay-green lines. The distribution patterns of F2 plants of Ga209/Hi39 and Ga209/KS75 were highly characterized as related to stay-green at 37 DAS, but shifted to lower levels at 52 DAS and maintained up to 83 DAS. In the progenies of the three crosses, the F2 from Hi39/KS75 showed a high stay-green score, DELS and fresh leaf number from early days after silking. It was possible to obtain higher stay-green lines in progenies of the cross of Hi39/KS75 than that of parents. 

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