Do hybrid radishes (Raphanus raphanistrum x R. sativus) compete better against oats (Avena sativa) than wild radishes (Raphanus raphanistrum) do?

Hybridization between crops and their wild relatives has the potential to create new populations with increased genotypic variability and phenotypic extremes. Such populations may have the potential to be as weedy as or weedier than their wild progenitor, when weediness is measured reduction in yield of a typical crop. In this study the relative competitive ability of wild radishes (Raphanus raphanistrum) and their F1, F2, and F4 hybrids with crop radishes (Raphanus sativus) against oats (Avena sativa) was compared in a common garden experiment in Pellston, Michigan. There was no difference between the total biomass of oats grown with F4 hybrid radishes and those grown with wild radishes. In addition, the relative competitive ability of F2 hybrid crosses created from seven different parental populations did not differ significantly. The competitive ability of early-generation hybrids (F1) that experienced little natural selection did not differ significantly from late-generation (F4) hybrids that underwent natural selection in agricultural conditions. Hybrid radishes germinated earlier, flowered later and were larger at flowering than wild radishes. However, neither flowering time nor size of the radish were correlated with the yield of the oats, while the correlation of oat yield with germination date was marginally significant. Hybridization appears to result in a population that is as competitive as the wild population while perhaps possessing greater genotypic variation and novel advantageous crop genes.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55075/1/3520.pdfDescription of 3520.pdf : Access restricted to on-site users at the U-M Biological Station