Сollection of melon crops: identification of homologous series in hereditary variability

Abstract

The law of homologous series in variation has important significance for disclosing the potential hereditary variability in plants. The use of the law in studies of cucurbit cropcollections, hybrid populations, mutants, and breeding lines made it possible to discover valuable and previously unknown forms of watermelon, muskmelon and different squash species for their use in practical breeding. For example, these are bushy and short vine forms for breeding cultivars suitable for mechanized cultivation. This work resulted in creating cultivars of bushy watermelon ‘Svaytoslav’, short vine watermelon ‘Podarok Solntsa’, bushy Cucurbita pepo L. ‘Kustovaya oranzhevaya’ and Cucurbita maxima Duch. ‘Kustovaya Zolotaya’, ‘Malyshka’, and ‘Matrieschka’, short vine Cucurbita maxima Duch. ‘Lechebnaya’ and Cucurbita moschata Duch. ex Poir ‘Mariya’, and also of a short vine muskmelon ‘Stanislava’. The mentioned cultivars have been included in the State Register of Selection Achievements. Watermelon genetic marker lines with the nonlobed (entire) leaf (TsL), namely TsL 656, TsL 662, TsL 784, TsL 752, have been identified and used for crerating entire leaf cultivars ‘Blagodatnyi’, ‘Lubimchik’, and ‘Krasavchik’. A watermelon cultivar ‘Surpriz’ with high quality, delicately colored bright yellow flesh, and cultivar ‘Solyaris’ with fruits combining yellow color of rind with yellow flesh, have been created for cultivation by amateur gardeners. Of interest is an ornamental form of watermelon with yellow-green mosaic leaf and bright yellow fruits (the yellowgreen bushy line) ZhZKL 870, as well as the yellow-green muskmelon line ZhZL 487 and yellow-green pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) line ZhZL 692. Bushy lines KL 648, KL 652 and short vine KPL 648, KPL 652 of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) have been created. Improved female lines (ZhL) of muskmelon (ZhL 415, ZhL 421, ZhL 423, and ZhL 427) have been identified for heterosis breeding. It follows from the above that the law in question found practical application in breeding cucurbit crops.