Differential male reproductive success in Douglas fir.

Differential male reproductive success was studied in clones at two seed orchards of Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco. The performance of tester pollen parents was compared in controlled pollinations with two-parent pollen mixes. Marker pollen homozygous for a rare IDH allele was the genetic marker in each pollen mix. The resulting seeds were analyzed electrophoretically. At both seed orchards, the proportion of seeds sired by tester pollen significantly varied among the tester pollen parents. Tester pollen parents did not perform the same across all seed parents. The significant interaction effect was evidence of male-female complementarity. These results suggest a genetic basis to differential male reproductive success in Douglas fir.