Inheritance of Certain Characters and the Linkage Relationships of Factors on Chromosome IV in Barley
Abstract
Plant breeding and the development of new or better varieties of plants are essential parts of modern agronomy, horticulture and forestry. The basis for such improvement is a knowledge of the factors and principles of genetics.
A number of genetic studies have been made with barley in recent years. This is partly because of the many distinct heritable characters of barley plants. The cultivated species of barley offers the plant breeder and geneticist a wealth of material for genetic studies. Varieties differ in a great many readily distinguishable characters, species hybridize readily, and their small number of chromosomes make it good material for inheritance studies.
The barley genetic work has been divided among the principal workers in the U.S., each being responsible for one linkage group. This station has been assigned group IV of which this study is a part. A study of the inheritance of other genes not located in linkage group IV, but appearing in the crosses used, has also been made. This investigation is a by-product of the cereal breeding and improvement program being carried on the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station.