ISHS Acta Horticulturae 588: II International Symposium on Cucurbits
A NEW METHOD FOR PRODUCING DIPLOID SEEDLESS WATERMELON |
| Authors: | K. Sugiyama, M. Morishita |
| Keywords: | Citrullus lanatus, parthenocarpy, X-ray, irradiation, embryo, pollination. |
| Abstract:
We have developed a new method for producing seedless watermelon in diploid plants using soft-X-irradiated pollen. Watermelons that result from pollination with pollen irradiated with 800 Gy or more contain only empty seeds. Diploid seedless watermelon was similar to normal fruit in size, shape, color, rind thickness, sugar content and days to maturity. However, the sugar content of seedless fruits was higher than that of normal fruits. The use of soft-X-irradiated pollen resulted in normal penetration of pollen tube into the synergid cell and discharge of sperm cells. Subsequently, the egg nucleus and sperm nucleus attached to each other in the egg cell and a globular embryo was formed. However, the embryo failed to differentiate to organ tissue and degenerated. | |
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