HOWARD, HOWARD AND ABDUR RAHMAN 217 



Cross-fertilization. That cross-fertilization is common in this crop was 

 proved in 1911 at Pusa by the examination of 29 cultures raised from the 

 seed of single plants. Of these, 23 contained heterozygotes while the remaining 

 six appeared to be uniform. Splitting took place in the following characters — 

 time of maturity, colour of the stem (green, red and intermediate tints), habit 

 (branching or erect), size and margin of the leaves, colour of the seeds and 

 height of the plants. 



IV. Crops grown for fibre, 



1. Round podded Jute.^ 



The cultivation of Corchorus capsidaris L., the principal source of the jute 

 of conmierce, is chiefly confined to the Districts of Bengal, which comprise the 

 deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra. This species is distinguished from 

 G. olitorius L., by its rounded fruits in which the seeds are not separated by 

 transverse dissepiments. In vegetative characters and in general appearance, 

 however, the two species are very similar to one another. 



Flowering. The flowers are small and inconspicuous and arise both on 

 the main stem and on the side branches. They occur in cymes on the stem 

 opposite a leaf where a short peduncle arises. This branches into from three 

 to six short pedicels, each bearing a single flower, which, as would be expected, 

 open at different times. The flowering period depends on the earliness of the 

 type. In sowings made at Pusa on February 13th, 1911, the first flowers 

 appeared at the beginning of June and by the middle of July most of the red 

 sorts were in flower. The flowering period lasts about six weeks after which 

 no growth in length takes place. 



Pollination and fertilization. A few flowers open about 8 a.m. but the 

 majority open later between the hours of 9 and 10 a.m. The corolla closes 

 between two and four in the afternoon, the flowers remaining open, on the 

 average, not more than five hours. Next morning, the mthered calyx, corolla, 

 stamens and style are shed and the small fruits begin to develop. In the bud, 

 the numerous 2-celled anthers are above the divided stigma. Both anther 

 cells split longitudinally and liberate their pollen in the bud about an hour and 

 a half before the flower opens. In the open flower, the anthers are still around 

 and above the stigma and therefore the chances of cross-pollination appear to 

 be small. Bees visit the flowers but not in large numbers. Bearing in mind 



1 Die Ziichtung der landvo. Kulturpflanzen, Bd, V, 1912. 



