Plastids are plant cellular organelles that are generally inherited from the maternal parent in the angiosperms. Many species exhibit biparental inheritance of plastids, but usually with a predominantly maternal influence. In contrast to this, we report strong paternal inheritance of plastids in reciprocal crosses of alfalfa, Medicago sativa, by following restriction fragment length polymorphisms for plastid DNA in two normal green plastids. Mitochondrial inheritance remained exclusively maternal.

Plastids are plant cellular organelles that are generally inherited from the maternal parent in the angiosperms. Many species exhibit biparental inheritance of plastids, but usually with a predominantly maternal influence. In contrast to this, we report strong paternal inheritance of plastids in reciprocal crosses of alfalfa, , by following restriction fragment length polymorphisms for plastid DNA in two normal green plastids. Mitochondrial inheritance remained exclusively maternal.

Flower bud injury was assessed in 18 cultivars of highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum L.) after two spring frosts. Bud position on shoots was significantly correlated ( P < 0.05) with percent brown ovaries. Significant differences in proportion of brown ovaries were noted among cultivars, but most of the variation was associated with stage of bud development. The least-developed buds were the most hardy. Bloom date was significantly correlated with harvest date across cultivars, although ‘Spartan’ flowered much later than other early ripening cultivars.