Analysis of hybridization effect by the appearance of target tomato traits in F2, F3 progenies in breeding for multi circle hydroponics

Classic genetic methods remain actual in practice and study of inheritance and heritability of the main commercial crop traits. Solanum lycopersicum L. genetics is well developed, but the special approach is necessary to solve special breeding tasks. Heritability analysis of the main traits in F1 tomato progeny, which we have been carried out in 2009-2011, revealed some regularity to be further used in breeding practice. We first found that the main fruit yield parameters of Solanum lycopersicum L., the average fruit weight (h2 = 0.99) and the average fruit number per plant (h2 = 0.96), are inherited on the maternal side, and dwarfism (h2 = 0.83) and early ripening (h2 = 0.73) are inherited on the paternal side. Effectiveness of the target hybridization method developed earlier has been tested in this paper. Productive maternal plants with larger-sized fruits and early ripening dwarf paternal plants were involved in target crossings. F1 hybrids and their F2 progeny resulted from self-pollination of F1 plants were produced. Analysis of dwarfism inheritance in three F2 hybrid combinations using c2 criterion confirmed recessiveness of d gene. The tall plants and the dwarf plants of F2 population segregated strictly by Mendel’s low (3:1). By dispersion analysis of six parental forms and three hybrids, we selected the more productive plants with large fruit size among the dwarf plants, then obtained seed progeny of these plants and studied the heritability of two traits, the dwarfism and large fruit size, in the F3 hybrids. It was found out that crossing between tall maternal plants with large fruit size and dwarf early ripening paternal plants resulted in lowering the plant height to that of dwarf father. This trait was maintained in F3 that confirmed the correctness of conclusions have earlier been made by us. Heritability of average fruit weight on the maternal side also has been confirmed in F3 progeny. In F3 hybrids derived from crossing maternal plants Vspishka and Krainiy Sever with large fruit size the average fruit weight increased 2 times compared to the parental forms. This trait is maintained in progeny despite negative effects of d genes on some quantitative characteristics. Use of high productive maternal forms with small fruits size resulted in lowering average fruit weight in the hybrid progenies. So, dwarfism of Solanum lycopersicum L., desirable in multi circle hydroponic technology, is inherited on the parental side, and the fruit weigh is inherited on the maternal side. Thus, to obtain new tomato forms for multi circle hydroponics, the maternal plants with large fruit size and dwarf paternal forms should be crossed.