ISHS Acta Horticulturae 523: XXV International Horticultural Congress, Part 13: New and Specialized Crops and Products, Botanic Gardens and Human-Horticulture Relationship
CUCUMBER GERM PLASM STUDY AND BREEDING IN CHINA |
| Authors: | H. Feng, M. Dehua |
| Keywords: | cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), germplasm breeding |
| Abstract:
Study of cucumber germplasm in China can be divided into four periods. In the 1950's, a nationwide collection of local varieties of this crop was carried out; several local varieties, which were suitable for open field cultivation, were selected. In the 1960's, evaluation for resistance to powdery mildew and downy mildew was carried out; several open-pollinated varieties were released, such as Jinyan No. 1, Jinyan No. 2, Jinyan No. 3 and Jinyan No. 4. These varieties soon became the dominant varieties in every corner of China. In the 1970's, when soil-borne disease became a limiting factor for cucumber cultivation, researchers in China started the collection of all kinds of genetic resources of cucumber, both cultivated and wild. More than 1000 accessions of cucumber germ plasm were collected, including wild cucumber species from Xishuangbanna in Yunnan province. Evaluation of these germ plasm collections was also carried out. Resistance to disease, fruit characters, maturation and yield were carefully studied. Some accessions were found carrying good resistance to soil-borne disease and mildews; by using this germ plasm, several varieties, including Jinyan No. 5, Jinyan No. 6, Jinyan No. 7, Jinza No. 1, Jinza No. 2, Jinza No. 3 and Jinza No. 4 were released. Since the 1980's, cucumber has become a popular vegetable crop in China and much more attention has been paid to its breeding work. Varieties which are resistant to mildews and soil-borne disease with high quality and high yields were released by integrating the germplasm from home and abroad. The release of new cucumber variety Jinchun No. 4 is a typical example. | |
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