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The transfer of multigenic traits into tomato has been slow due to interspecific barriers (hybrid breakdown) found in the F2 of the Lycopersicon esculentum × L. pennellii cross (esc × pen), including blocks in normal reproductive development and nonfecundity. In a typical (esc × pen) F2 population, failure to flower and premeiotic blocks in pollen development occurred in 2% and 11% of the population, respectively. The remaining plants showed a mean of 37% stainable pollen. Twenty three percent of the F2 plants set seed, with an average of 4.5 seeds/fruit. An average of 33% of the stainable pollen from the 7 F2 plants with the highest stainable pollen measurements germinated in vitro, but only 4 of these 7 plants set seed. Thus, percent stainable pollen is not an adequate predictor of fecundity, and the non-fecundity in the F2Le plants must involve barriers occurring after pollen germination.
A method was developed which greatly reduces or eliminates each of the F2 barriers. The method and its efficacy on each of the aspects of hybrid breakdown will be discussed.