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Diversity In Tiller Suppression Of Domesticated Cereals: Morphologicalvariance Observed In Maize, Sorghum, And Setaria, Muriel Tahiameiani Longstaff

Theses and Dissertations

Tillers are vegetative branches found in grasses, which develop in early stages of plant life. Located at the base of the central stalk, tillers have agronomical importance by increasing seed production with fewer tillers, or providing alternative forms of biofuel with more tillers. As grains have typically decreased tiller number while undergoing domestication, we explored wild and domesticated strains of varying grains by doing a morphological analysis on tiller development. This thesis shows how the decrease of tillers through in domestication cereals shows diversity not only across maize, Sorghum, and Setaria, but also between lines of maize and Setaria species. …