ARS | Publication request: DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTHERNPEA CULTIVARS WITH GREEN COTYLEDON PHENOTYPES

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: February 4, 1996
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: A breeding program was initiated in 1990 to develop cream-, blackeye-, and pinkeye-type southernpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.)] cultivars homozygous for the gc gene conditioning green cotyledons. The green cotyledon trait allows harvest at the near-dry seed stage of maturity without loss of the seed's fresh green color. The ability to select for the gc gene in the embryo stage greatly facilitated its use in breeding programs, and the development of advanced breeding lines has proceeded at an accelerated rate. Sixteen F9 and 15 F10 breeding lines homozygous at the gc locus were were available for preliminary field testing in 1995. The results of this field testing indicate that the efforts to incorporate the gc gene into elite horticultural germplasm have been successful. More importantly, the results of tests conducted with seed harvested at the dry stage of maturity indicate that several of the lines should produce an excellent processed product.