Glossary Plant Breeding

Lodging resistance may be directly related to the strength of the main stem, number of
nodes, height of the plant, and other traits.
Lodicule. One of two scale-like structures at the base of the ovary in a grass flower.
Low Productivity Environment. A crop production environment characterized by harsh
and erratically unpredictable climatic conditions with the high risk of crop failure.
Such environments are prone to large errors, less differentiation between genotypes,
and less repeatability across years. Various components of such environments are
highly unpredictable and intractable. (Also see subsistence agriculture).
Ludwig Theorem. A theory which states that new genotypes can be added to a
population if they are able to utilize new components of the environment, even if
these are inferior to the ancestral niche. The phenomenon is also called annidation.
Luxuriance. An accidental condition produced by complementary gene action in the F 1
hybrid between species, and varieties or strains of both self- as well as crosspollinated
species. The excessive size and vigour is not connected in any way with the
adaptive superiority of such hybrids compared to their parents.
Lysis. The rupture and death of a bacterial cell on the release of phage
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