Abstract
Using 131 sib-mated lines of buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum Moench, the homozygous genetic load for viability was estimated by a modification of the Morton-Crow-Muller (1956) method, under favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions. Two kinds of genetic load, designated A and B, were estimated to be 0.225 and 0.653 in favorable conditions, and 0.343 and 2.623 in unfavorable conditions, respectively. Concealed genetic variability has been maintained within the cultivated buckwheat population, to the extent reported for Drosophila. A method for estimating the genetic fitness of the species is described.
