Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 March 2009
The effect of field layout and the orientation of seed-production blocks on outcrossing rates was investigated in Indian mustard. The study incorporated three male:female combinations, i.e. 1:2, 1:3 and 2:4 laid in east–west, north–south and circular directions. The experimental material consisted of four test cultivars (RLM 198, RLM 514, Varuna and TM 4) in a split-plot design. Male sterility was achieved by spraying 0·25% (v/v) ethrel twice before the emergence of the first flowering shoots. The proportion of hybrid seed set was maximal in the 2:4 combination in a circular design. Outcrossing varied from 19 to 79%. Heterosis was evident in yield trials, but F1 hybrids showed carry-over effects due to ethrel treatment. It is argued that ethrelinduced male sterility has only a limited role in screening parental combinations for their yield assessment.