Growth habit in mini tomato hybrids from a dwarf line

Abstract

The growth habit directly influences the tomato architecture, impacting on agronomic performance of mini-tomato hybrids. However, little is known about the growth habit of mini-tomatoes hybrids obtained by the crossing of dwarf lines versus normal lines with different growth habits. The objective of this study was to determine the type of growth that occurs when crossing a mini-tomato dwarf line versus normal phenotype lines with indeterminate, determined and semi-determinate growth habit. The methodology consisted of biparental crosses [determined from a cross between a dwarf line with normal lines of different growth habits (determinate, semi-determinate and indeterminate)] and reciprocal backcrosses of the F1 to the parents [normal lines (P₁) and dwarf line (P₂)], and obtained the F2 generation. Was evaluated phenotypically the growth habit in each generation. The growth habit proportions of F₁ (P₁xP₂), F1 (P₂xP₁), F₂, F₁RC₁ (P₁) and F₁RC₁ (P₂), were classified after checking the expected and observed frequencies using the χ² test (F= 0.05). Was concluded that, when the determined and semi-determined growth habits are used as parents to produce hybrids, in F₂ population growth habits shows 3:1 type segregation. Futhermore, regardless of the normal parent growth habit, the hybrids (F₁) always will show indeterminate growth when they are crossed with the mini-tomato dwarf line of this study.