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Floral characteristics, chromosome number and meiotic behavior of hybrids between Leucaena leucocephala (2n = 104) and tetraploid L. diversifolia (2n = 104) (Leguminosae) ^*

Liane Helena Cardoso de Freitas^I,II; Maria Teresa Schifino Wittmann^I; Nilton Rodrigues Paim^I

^IDepartamento de Plantas Forrageiras e Agrometeorologia, Faculdade de Agronomia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Caixa Postal 776, 90001 Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. Send correspondence to M.T.S.-W.
^IIPresent address: EMBRAPA-CENARGEN, Caixa Postal 102372, 70000 Brasília, DF, Brasil

ABSTRACT

Floral characteristics, chromosome number and meiotic behavior of F₂, F₃ and F₄ hybrids between Leucaena leucocephala and tetraploid L. diversifolia were analyzed. The hybrid population more closely resembled L. leucocephala in terms of number of flowers per inflorescence and inflorescence color but was intermediate between the two species for flower arrangement. Meiotic behavior was fairly regular, with predominance of bivalents at metaphase I and other associations occurring at variable frequencies. Meiotic index and pollen viability values were high.

Keywords: Floral characteristics; Chromosome number; Meiotic behavior; Hybrids; Leucaena leucocephala; Leguminosae.

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* Part of the Master Thesis presented by L.H.C.F. to the Curso de Pós-Graduação em Zootecnia, área de concentração Plantas Forrageiras, UFRGS.