MEIOTIC BEHAVIOUR OF ERAGROSTIS TEF AND ERAGROSTIS PILOSA

Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) is major cereal crop cultivated in Ethiopia. It occupies approximately two million hectares of land each year. However, little has been done on meiotic chromosome study of the interspes hybrid. So, studies were conducted to examine meiotic behavior and pollen fertility of the F1-hybrid (E. tef x E. pilosa) and parental lines at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 200 7/08. The F1-hybrid plant showed regular meiotic cell division and high level of pollen fertility (94.3%). It also produced better seed and biomass yield and number of tillers than the parental lines which are the manifestation of meiotic stability in the hybrid and the subsequent generations. Pollen fertility test of the parental lines and selected recombinant inbred lines of E. tef and E. pilosa cross was also high (90 - 95%), which are an indication of regular meiotic chromosome division. The resultdemonstrated chromosome stability of the hybrid plant, which is important for widening the genetic pool of tef germplasm through conventional crossing with E. pilosa. The study further strengthen the view that the two species are very closely related.