| Inheritance of pod length, and interrelationships of seed yield, pod length, pod number per plant (PNP), seed set per pod (SSP), seed weight, seed oil, and protein content in Brassica napus were investigated.;Three doubled haploid (DH) families were produced through microspore culture of F;These studies showed that the inheritance of pod length fitted a model of three independent nuclear genes with additive effect. In general, pod length had positive associations with SSP and seed weight, and had no relationship with seed oil or protein content. Pod length had a weak compensating relationship with PNP, but this relationships should not be a major concern when selecting for high seed yield. Pod length had a direct negative effect on seed yield, and the long-podded genotypes had no seed yield advantage over genotypes with normal pod length. A high value of SSP was a distinctive characteristic of a high-yielding genotype. Genotypes with small seeds were desirable to produce high seed yield and seed oil under unfavorable environmental conditions. Seed yield and seed oil content were often positively associated. Seed oil and protein content were negatively correlated only when environmental conditions were unfavorable.;Spaced plant density resulted in a marked increase in PNP, and slight increases in pod length and SSP, but slight decreases in 1000 seed weight and seed protein content. Seed oil content was insensitive to changes in plant density. |
