DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACID/ALUMINUM TOLERANT ALFALFA GENOTYPE

OBJECTIVES: The objectives are to use hematoxylin stain and the recovery system developed atNC A&T Unviersity to slect tolerant individuals from cultivars shown as having a high percentage of resistant individuals which stain above the threshold suggested by prior research; to rescue and submit tolerant individuals to the multiple shoot organogenesis method developed at NC A&T University and produce a quality sufficient for field evaluation; and to study nodulation, nutrition, biomass and test for the presence of a protein associated with aluminum tolerant clones.

APPROACH: Hydroponic hematoxylin stain will be used to identify tolerant individuals from six cultivars. These will be mass cloned through tissue culture. Plants will be inoculated with acid tolerant Rhizobium melitloti field grown in a randomized complete block design with inoculated and noninoculated plants as treatments. A non-nodulating cultivar will be used as a control. Plants will be assayed for nodulation, biomass Ca, Mg and crude protein. Seed will be saved for multiplication.

PROGRESS: 1996/10 TO 1999/09

Seed was produced from two strains labeled AlAT C-42 and AlAT S-42. These have, respectively, ancestries of Cimmaron and Saranac. Principal parentage of Cimmaron is Saranac. In all. 240 mature plants were produced in pH4.2 Porter’s soil with an 80% aluminum saturation. Seed production was far less than desired due to summer heat in a greenhouse with no thermal control. Samples from these cultivars were processed and electrophoresed for proteins and found to have an 18.7 kilo-Dalton protein also found in aluminum tolerant strains developed at USDA, Beltsville. Seed stock from the experiment has been sent to Cape May Plant Material Center for multiplication with a release in view. Additional seed will be used to evaluate the cultivar(s) performance in acid mine soil at an abandoned copper mine.

PUBLICATIONS: 1996/10 TO 1999/09

No publications reported this period

PROJ NO: NCX-143-5-97-130-1 AGENCY: CSRS NC.X
PROJ TYPE: EVANS-ALLEN PROJ. STATUS: TERMINATED
START: 01 OCT 1996 TERM: 30 SEP 1999 FY: 1999

INVESTIGATOR: Kamp-Glass, M. H.; Yang, G.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
NATURAL RESOURCES & ENV DESIGN
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIV
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA 27411