Abstract

Evaluation of the phenotypic uniformity within the carrot petaloid cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) BC₁-BC₄ backcross populations in relation to several morphological traits of petaloidy expression was assessed.  A high variability in the sterility level within and between most of the progenies was observed. As a result of the carried out investigations, the eight CMS lines could be divided into three groups according to the sterility level: 1/ one line with the highest number of male-sterile plants (100%) occurring in all backcross populations of one line, 2/ four lines showed large shifts for the percentage of sterile plants as the backcross method progressed, 3/ three lines presented high fluctuations in the individual backcross populations. In 18 out of 25 male sterile backcross populations, white color of the corolla dominated (72%) over green color and in most crosses the highest number of white-flowered petaloidy type was achieved for the populations most advanced in backcrossing. Examinations of the carrot flowers by means of the transmitted-light microscope revealed that majority of the populations were characterized by other beneficial morphological flowers traits: well developed nectarines, pistils, and styles.

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