Inheritance of leaf color in broadleaf birdsfoot trefoil

Poostchi, I.; Macdonald, H. A.

The Viking variety of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and a dwarf type, var. arvensis were used in leaf color studies as expressed in terms of chlorophyll contents. Chlorophyll contents of 100 mg of fresh leaflets were colorometrically determined for the parents, the F1, and backcrosses. The dark green color, for which Viking was selected, proved to be dominant. The backcross ratio for this character approximated the 5:1 tetrasomic ratio expected for single gene inheritance on the basis of random chromosome segregation.