GREEN SEED COAT COLOUR RETENTION IN LENTIL - University ...

seed coat colour. Because the less desirable parent could not be accurately
identified in the study it was unknown if transgressive segregation occurs for the
less desirable seed coats. This trait could be similar to green pea bleaching for
inheritance. McCallum et al. (1997) reported that green pea bleaching exhibited
quantitative inheritance and a small number of genes control the trait. That would
be possible in lentil as well due to the high heritability.
One factor that was not tested in this study was germination of bleached
seeds compared to unbleached seeds. In green pea, the bleached seeds exhibit a
lower percentage germination compared to unbleached seeds (Riehle and
Muehlbauer, 1975). In this study, seed in 2006 was used from plot seed in 2005.
Approximately the same number of seeds was seeded into each microplot, all
microplots had a constant size. Some of the 2005 lentil samples had poor green
seed coat colour but no obvious differences in plant population developed among
the different lines in the microplots, even from lines that had desirable green colour
to lines that did not have desirable green colour. There could have been some level
of reduced germination but differences in desirability did not result in a noticeable
reduction of germination for green lentil seed.
It is possible that the difference of green seed coat desirability could be
related to the physical characteristics of the seed coat. Lentil samples that did not
have as desirable a green seed coat colour often had seed coats that were wrinkled
or adhered less tightly to the cotyledons. Samples that had improved desirability of
green seed coat colour generally had seed coats that tightly adhered to the cotyledon
and little wrinkling. The Canadian Grain Commission describes the seeds with little
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