Evaluation location: Alabama, United States
Root length in millimeters on Vicia sativa seedlings done by J.A. Mosjidis, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, 1998. The method of Mosjidis and Zhang (1995) was used to study differences in root growth among accessions. Seed of the accessions were germinated in a 178 mm high x 166 mm wide polyethylene growth pouch (Seed-Pack, Vaughan's Seed Company), which contain an absorbent paper wick with 21 ml of water. The top of the wick was folded into a V-shaped trough for holding seeds. Perforations in the bottom of the trough facilitate root penetration (McMichael et al., 1985). Four seeds of each accession were placed in a growth pouch. These pouches were held upright in plastic containers and kept in the dark in an incubator at 20 oC. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with eight replications (runs). Main root length of each seedling was measured 12 days after the seeds were put in the incubators. Data was recorded as root length in each accession.