Hybrid between P. schweinfurthii and Napier Grass

Abstract

Four crosses were effected between the 3 available species of Pennisetum with x=7 as the basic chromosome number [P. glaucum (Cumbu/Pearl millet), P. purpureum (Napier grass) and P. schweinfurthii] viz., (1) P. glaucum×P. schweinfurthii, (2) P. schweinfurthii×P. glaucum, (3) P. schweinfurthii×P. purpureum, (4) P. purpureum×P. schweinfurthii. Of these crosses, the third cross, P. schweinfurthii×P. purpureum gave rise to 1 hybrid with 2n=28. In the light of the earlier reports from the cross P. glaucum×P. schweinfurthii, it is suggested that in the present case, an unreduced gamete of P. schweinfurthii might have combined with a normal gamete of P. purpureum to give rise to the 2n=28 hybrid. It is also suggested that the genomic constitution of the hybrid may be A′BBB and the 14 bivalents observed may be due to pairing of 7 chromosomes of the B genomic complement and the other 7 bivalents may be due to intergenomic residual homology.