Latin transversals of rectangular arrays

Abstract

Let m and n be integers, $2 \leq m \leq n$. An m by n array consists of mn cells, arranged in m rows and n columns, and each cell contains exactly one symbol. A transversal of an array consists of m cells, one from each row and no two from the same column. A latin transversal is a transversal in which no symbol appears more than once. We will establish a sufficient condition that a 3 by n array has a latin transversal.