Abstract
It has long been admitted that male and female cultivars of Dioscorea cayenensis-rotundata complex do not flower at the same period and consequently natural outcrossing rarely occurs. Flowering in thirteen (7 males and 6 females) traditional cultivars were studied. Four main results were obtained: i) the first bud emergence occurred 25 days earlier in males; ii) the male and female first flower opening overlapped for 10 days (85 to 95 days after sprouting); iii) for both sexes, highest frequency of flower opening occurred at mid-day; and iv) the female cultivar 1800 could flower for 8 consecutive days, with a peak between day 4 and day 8. These results are discussed in relation to intercrossing success.
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Zoundjihekpon, J., Hamon, P., Noirot, M. et al. Flowering synchronisation between male and female West African cultivated yams (Dioscorea cayenensis-rotundata complex). Euphytica 95, 371–375 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003089921156
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003089921156