INHERITANCE OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS ASSOCIATED WITH PLANT AND DRIED SEEDS IN LENTIL (LENS CULINARIS MEDIK.)

Inheritance of testa colour, testa pattern, cotyledon color and stem color was studied in crosses of lentil involving parents with brown, grey, green testa color, red and yellow cotyledon color, and with green and colored seedling stem. Analysis of F-1 plant populations of crosses between green and colored (pink) stem revealed that colored stem was dominant over green stem. Similarly red cotyledon was dominant over yellow cotyledon. The F-2 segregation patterns indicated red cotyledon and colored stem to be monogenic traits. The analysis of F-2 and F-3 seeds (having F-1 and F-2 testa, respectively) revealed that spackled testa was dominant to even (without speckles) testa, grey testa was dominant to green testa and brown testa was dominant to both grey and green testa. The F-2 segregation ratio from cross involving parents with brown and grey testa was 9 brown: 3 grey: 4 green. The crosses between parents with grey and green testa color segregated to fit a ratio of 3:1 between dominant and recessive color. These segregating patterns revealed involvement of two genes and a recessive inhibitor in the regulation of testa color.