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- Author or Editor: Todd C. Wehner x
Understanding the natural mating behavior (self- or cross-pollination) in watermelon is important to the design of a suitable breeding strategy. The objective of this study was to measure the rate of self- and cross-pollination in watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] using the dominant gene Sp (Spotted leaves and fruit) as a marker. The experiment consisted of two studies and was a split plot in a randomized complete block design with 3 years (2009 to 2011) and four locations (Clinton, Kinston, Oxford, Lewiston, NC). For the intercrossing study, whole plots were the two spacings (1.2 × 0.3 m and 1.2 × 0.6 m) with four replications in 2010. For the inbreeding study, whole plots were two equidistant spacings (3 × 3 m and 6 × 6 m) with four replications in 2009 to 2011. Cultivars Allsweet and Mickylee were subplots within each whole plot. In the inbreeding study, spacing and year had a significant effect on the rate of self-pollination, which was moderate (47% and 54%, respectively) when watermelon plants were trained in a spiral and spaced 3 × 3 m or 6 × 6 m apart. Spacing and cultivar did not have a significant effect on cross-pollination in the intercrossing study. Closely spaced watermelon plants (1.2 × 0.3 m and 1.2 × 0.6 m) had low natural outcrossing rate (31% and 35%, respectively) and was not adequate to intercross families. However, breeders should consider the amount of self-pollination in watermelon to calculate the estimates of component of genetic variances.
Downy mildew, caused by the oomycete pathogen Pseudoperonospora cubensis (Berkeley & Curtis) Rostov, is a major foliar disease of cucumber. Ten years after the reemergence of P. cubensis, downy mildew continues to be a major threat to cucumber production in the United States. Cucumber accessions with high levels of resistance have been identified. Development of cultivars with high levels of resistance remains an important objective of cucumber breeding programs. We tested a set of cucumber cultigens, including highly resistant PI accessions and susceptible control lines, to observe the effect of plant age on resistance. Cultigens responded differently to disease across plant developmental stages. In general, older plants had more disease symptoms, even those classified as resistant, such as PI 197088. However, PI 330628 and PI 605996 held their resistance even at late developmental stages. It is possible that these lines were resistant at late stages due to other factors, such as their rapid, indeterminate growth, that allows them to outgrow the disease. However, although PI 197088 appears to have a rapid, indeterminate growth habit, it did not have more resistance at later stages of plant maturity. Regardless of the mechanism involved, plant breeders should use the genetic resistance in PI 330628 and PI 605996 over PI 197088.
A heat unit model developed in a previous study was compared to the standard method (average number of days to harvest) for ability to predict harvest date in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Processing and fresh-market cucumbers were evaluated in 3 years (1984 through 1986), three seasons (spring, summer, and fall), and three North Carolina locations. The model predicted harvest date significantly better than the standard method for processing, but not for fresh-market cucumbers.
Abstract
Hypocotyl and cotyledon expiants of 85 cultivars and lines of cucumber were screened for adventitious shoot and root formation in tissue culture. Tissue was cut from 7-day-old seedlings and grown on a medium consisting of Murashige-Skoog salts and vitamins with 1 mg/liter each of 6-ben-zylamino purine (BA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and 3% sucrose added. No shoots were formed from hypocotyl pieces, while 28 of the 85 lines formed shoots from cotyledon tissue. Thirty-two lines formed at least one root in culture, and there was no difference in the frequency of root formation between cotyledon and hypocotyl tissue. There was no correlation between root and shoot formation. The best 2 lines, PI 279463 and PI 401732, had 53% and 40% of the cotyledon pieces forming shoots, respectively.
An experiment was conducted to determine the genetics of chilling resistance in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) inbred NC-76 that was developed from PI 246930, an accession from the U.S. Department of Agriculture germplasm collection. NC-76 was crossed with ‘Chipper’ and breeding line Gy 14 to produce F1, F1 reciprocal, F2, and BC1 generations for evaluation. Cucumber seedlings at the first true leaf stage were placed in growth chambers set at 4 °C for 7 h and a photosynthetic photon flux of 500 μmol·m−2·s−1. Segregation in the F2 fit a 3 : 1 inheritance pattern, with resistance being dominant. The backcross of the F1 to the susceptible parent produced a 1 : 1 ratio, confirming that chilling resistance was from a single gene. The single dominant gene controlling chilling resistance in NC-76 was given the symbol Ch.
The inheritance of resistance to M. arenaria races 1 and 2 in Cucumis sativus var. hardwickii (R.) Alef. line LJ 90430 was studied in several crosses with cultivated cucumber (C. sativus L.). Initially, parents, F1, F2, and BC1 to both parents of `Sumter' x LJ 90430 tested in a split-root experiment showed that resistance was quantitative. In addition, it appeared that the same genes were controlling resistance to race 1 and race 2 of M. arenaria (genetic correlation of 0.97 and 0.99 for gall index and egg mass data, respectively). In later greenhouse experiments, two other families were evaluated (`Addis' x LJ 90403 and `Poinsett 87' x LJ 90430) for inheritance of resistance to M. arenaria race 1. In all crosses using gall index data, additive variance was the largest component of genetic variance, and estimates of narrow-sense heritability ranged from 0.50 to 0.85 (0.57 to 0.81 for broad-sense heritability). Estimates of the minimum number of genes (effective factors) using gall index data ranged from 1.1 to 2.7 (0.2 to 0.3 for egg mass data).