SYNTHETIC HYBRIDS OF NEW WORLD AND OLD WORLD AGROPYRONS II. AGROPYRON RIPARIUM X AGROPYRON REPENS

Five hybrids were obtained from 12 seeds formed in 26 emasculated florets of A. riparium pollinated by A. repens. The hybrid plants were morphologically intermediate between the parents for vegetative and spike characteristics, although they resembled A. repens more closely than A. riparium. The 28-chromosome A. riparium parent behaved cytologically as an allotetraploid and formed an average of 13.98 II and 0.04 I in 94 cells at metaphase I. An average of 20.27 II and 0.36 IV were observed at metaphase I in 55 cells of A. repens, which was designated as a segmental autoallohexaploid. The hybrids contained 35 chromosomes and averaged 6.75 I, 12.49 II, 1.05 III, 0.01 IV, and 0.01 V in 162 cells interpreted at metaphase I. Bivalent chromosome pairing in the hybrids was attributed to autosyndetic pairing of 2 A. repens genomes and allosyndetic pairing between 1 A. riparium genome and 1 A. repens genome. Multivalent chromosome associations were attributed to structural hybridity. A. repens and A. riparium apparently share a genome in common, and this genome is the one responsible for rhizomes in both species. A. riparium was given a genome formula of R₂R₂SS; whereas the A. repens genome formula was written as R₁R₁X₁X₁X₂X₂, and the hybrid genome formula was designated as R₁R₂X₁X₂S. The “S” genome of A. riparium was derived from A. spicatum, and the “R” genome is the genome shared by A. repens and A. riparium. The origin and distribution of the so-called “X” genomes of A. repens remain unknown. The hybrids produced from 3 to 10% stainable pollen; however, no seed was set on the hybrids during 2 years in the field.