ISHS Acta Horticulturae 702: V International Pineapple Symposium
HYBRIDIZATION AND SELECTION IN PINEAPPLE IMPROVEMENT: THE EXPERIENCE IN MALAYSIA |
| Author: | Y.K. Chan |
| Keywords: | Ananas comosus, pineapple, breeding, hybridization, varieties |
| Abstract:
Pineapple cultivars are heterozygous and hybridization between them often leads to development of fertile seed that presents a wide spectrum of genotypes. This segregating F1 population provides an excellent source of gene recombinants for selection and cloning of new, superior individuals. Important considerations in hybridization include the choice of parents, direction of cross, time of crossing and suitable hybrid population size. Early progeny evaluation including seed handling, germination, nursery management and rapid vegetative propagation using leaf buds and ‘quartering’ is necessary to develop preliminary elite clones. These elite clones are then put in ‘genotype x environment’ trials to establish their performance and stability. In Malaysia, it takes about 12 years from the time of the first cross to the release of a commercial clone. The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) successfully developed a commercial hybrid ‘Josapine’ using this methodology and more promising hybrids particularly those with the ‘piping-leaf’ character and ornamental pineapples are in the pipeline. This paper also discusses the prospects of hybridization in improving ‘not often considered characters’ such as earliness in bearing. Several new exciting hybrids in the MARDI programme have shown potential to be harvested within a year making the pineapple a truly annual crop. | |
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