Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report 3:14 (article 8) 1980
H. Inggamer and O.M.B. de Ponti
Institute for Horticultural Plant Breeding, Wageningen, The Netherlands
The occurrence of glabrous cucumber has been reported from the USSR and the USA. In the USSR the cucumbers in question are the spontaneous mutants Odnostebelnyi 33 and Mayak 422, which were found at the Vavilov Institute in Moldavia (3). The American material concerns a radiation-induced mutant, selected by Robinson, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (2). The glabrousness of line NCSU 75-M834-6, provided by R.L. Lower, probably originates from Robinson’s materials.
For an improved biological control of the glasshouse white fly Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood with the parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa Gahan, we introduced glabrousness into the Dutch slicing varieties. Meanwhile glabrous lines of good cultural value have been released (1).
We were also interested in the identity of the genes of the three accessions. To this end we have made a half diallel with the lines Odnostebelnyi 33, Mayak 422, and NCSU 75-M834-6. Fifteen plants were examined from each F1, both in the seedling and the pot plant stage, for the presence of pubescence. Pubescence was entirely lacking on all F1 plants.
From this, we conclude that the character glabrousness, both in the Russian and American material, depends on the same recessive gene g1.
Literature Cited
- de Ponti, O.M.B. 1979. Breeding glabrous cucumber varieties to improve the biological control of the glasshouse white fly. Cucurbit Genetics Coop. Rpt. 2:5.
- Robinson, R.W. and W. Mishanec. 1964. A radiation induced seedling marker gene for cucumbers. Veg. Impr. Newsl. 6:2.
- Strelnikova, T.R. and A.K. Mashtakova. 1973. A new, nonpubescent cucumber form (Russian). Selektsiya i semenovodstvo ovoshchnykh. Kishinev. 1973:3-6.