Screening of Common Buckwheat Genetic Resources for Recessive Genes

Abstract In screening buckwheat genetic resources for valuable recessive genes it is important to consider that recessive genes could be hidden in the population as a part of the heterozygotes. Three case studies are reported about screening for recessive genes in common buckwheat populations. One method is to self-fertilize the plants. They—at least in the domestic population of Siva dolenjska buckwheat from Slovenia—gave, after selfing, a few progeny plants. Sublethal and other deleterious properties were expressed in all plants of the next generation after selfing. Another method is to screen pollen grains for recessive genes, which are detectable in the haploide phase. Only a few characters expressed in pollen grains (for example amylose/amylopectin ratio) could be scored in this way. Very promising was the method applied in the screening of a domestic Slovenian population for buckwheat plants with the determinate growth habit.