Search Results
Identification and production of onion male-sterile and maintainer lines by conventional breeding takes between 4 to 8 years, due in part to the biennial nature of onion. In addition, male sterile plants and maintainer genotypes occur at a very low frequency in onion populations (Pike, 1986). A significantly shorter and more efficient alternative involves the screening of breeding lines for cytoplasmic male sterility using PCR-based technology. Thirty short-day onion breeding lines from the Texas A&M onion program were screened for type of cytoplasm (normal or sterile). Specific amplification of a fragment of chloroplast genome was achieved using the polymerase chain reaction according to Havey (1991). Forty-eight individual onion plants were screened per line. Out of thirty lines evaluated, 13 showed 100% sterile cytoplasm, 6 showed 100% normal cytoplasm, and 11 showed both types of cytoplasm. Lines showing normal cytoplasm or both cytoplasmic types were kept and reanalyzed. Only plants presenting normal cytoplasm were grown to maturity to help in the identification of maintainer lines as part of the Texas A&M onion breeding program.
Onions suffer from severe inbreeding depression, which has inhibited the development of homozygous inbred lines in breeding programs. The creation of doubled haploid (DH) lines in onion provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the utility of such lines as parents in a breeding program. For this purpose, two diallele cross experiments were conducted. The first consisted of a six-parent diallele cross using six DH lines developed at Texas A&M University. The second, a four-parent diallele cross performed with two DH lines and two inbred lines from the breeding program. Bulbs from the various crosses were evaluated for diameter, height, centers/bulb, ring thickness, number of rings/bulb, bulb weight, soluble solids content, and pungency. For some traits, general combining ability (GCA) effects explained most of the variation. However, for other traits, specific combining ability (SCA) effects predominated. For all traits, GCA and SCA were always larger than the reciprocal effects (divided into maternal and nonmaternal components). The GCA and SCA effects show an inverse correlation between the number of centers/bulb and ring thickness.
Fifteen shortday onion cultivars grown at two production locations (GB and ST) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas were evaluated for pungency levels using gas chromatography (GC) and pyruvic acid tests.
Significant differences (P=0.05) were observed between cultivars in the pyruvic acid and GC tests within each location. Pyruvic acid content ranged from 3.0 to 5.1 μmol·g-1 fresh wt. The amount of total sulfur volatiles measured by the GC method ranged from 28 × 103 to 58 × 103EU. The correlation coefficients between GC and pyruvic acid were 0.10*** and 0.18*** at the GB and ST location, respectively.
When the two locations were combined, no significant differences (P=0.05) were observed between cultivars or locations using the GC test. However, the pyruvic acid test showed significant differences between locations. This result indicated that each cultivar had a different response in pungency as influenced by production location or environment.
Abstract
The development of a high yielding, pink root-resistant [Pyrenochaeta terrestris (Hansen) Gorenz, Walker, and Larson], mild, sweet, shortday onion (Allium cepa L.) with improved shipping quality was the objective for the onion breeding program in the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. ‘Texas Grano 1015Y’ (TG1015Y) is a very mild and sweet cultivar with those quality characteristics.
Abstract
The development of a high yielding, pink root resistant, medium length storage shortday onion (Allium cepa L.) with improved shipping quality and maturing slightly later than ‘Texas Early Grano 502’ (TEG502) was the objective in the development of this cultivar. ‘Texas Grano 1025Y’ (TG1025Y) extends the South Texas onion season by 7 to 10 days beyond the ‘TEG502’ maturity season.
Abstract
The development of a late maturing, high yielding, pink root resistant shortday onion (Allium cepa L.) with improved shipping quality was the objective for introduction of this cultivar.
Abstract
The development of a late maturing, high yielding, disease resistant shortday onion (Allium cepa L.) with improved shipping quality and medium length storage characteristics was the objective leading to selection and increase of this cultivar.
Eight individual potatoes, exhibiting a wide range of quality characteristics, were cloned at the Texas A&M Vegetable Improvement Center, College Station, Tex., in order to produce a large number of slips for field trials. Leaf photosynthetic light response for six of these clonal selections was determined during a greenhouse experiment conducted at the Texas A&M Univ. Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Overton, Tex. Photosynthesis data were fit to a rectangular hyperbola in order to estimate light saturated leaf photosynthetic rate (Amax), quantum efficiency (QE), and dark respiration rate (Rd). Significant differences (P ≥ 0.05) were detected in all three of these parameter estimates among the six clonal selections. Parameter estimates ranged from 23.4 to 28.8 μmol (CO2) m-2·s-1, 0.056 to 0.071 mol (CO2)/mol (photons), and –0.9 to –2.0 μmol (CO2) m-2·s-1 for Amax, QE, and Rd, respectively. However, these differences were not clearly related to quality characteristics determined for these clones in field trials.