Reproductive biology of wild and cultivated carrot (Daucus carota L.)

SUMMARY The wild and cultivated forms of Daucus carota L. are andromonoecious and protandrous. The separation of male and female phases is complete at the level of the Mower and the umbel, but the two phases overlap at the level of the full plant, Creating conditions for geitonogamy. At the same time, insect visits between umbels of adjacent plants lead to xenogamy. The extent of overlap between the male and female phases of various umbel orders varies between wild and cultivated carrot. Consequently, there is probably more outbreeding in wild carrot. The chiasma frequency is higher in cultivated carrot. These findings indicate that the meiotic system generates more variability in cultivated carrot whereas the breeding system has the potential to generate greater variability in the wild plant.