Location: Vegetable Crops Research
2018 Annual Report
Objectives
Objective 1: Phenotype, map, and identify traits of critical importance for vegetable growers, seed companies, and consumers in elite populations and in diverse genetic resources of Allium, Cucumis, and Daucus.
Objective 2: Develop and release enhanced germplasm of Allium, Cucumis, and Daucus with superior traits.
Objective 3: Determine the genetic bases and molecular processes for biotic and abiotic resistance, growth and productivity, nutritional value, and flavor characteristics in Allium, Cucumis, and Daucus.
Objective 4: Develop informational resources and tools to evaluate phenotypic and genotypic data from Allium, Cucumis, and Daucus breeding and genetic research.
Approach
The long-term potential for improving a crop is only as great as the breadth of diversity that breeders utilize.
Objective 1: Identify unique phenotypic variation in carrot, onion, and cucumber germplasm collections and breeding stocks and genetically map key traits to improve nutritional and processing quality, disease resistance, stress tolerance, and yield of Allium, Cucumis, and Daucus vegetables, characterize observed variation and initiate genetic incorporation of these phenotypes into elite germplasm.
Objective 2: Incorporate valuable traits and release elite germplasm and genetic stocks using marker-assisted selection and provide stakeholders with germplasm and databases including maps.
Dense genetic maps are useful to improve the efficiency of crop improvement. We will identify unique phenotypes in elite onion, cucumber, and carrot germplasm to construct genetic maps for marker-facilitated selection of major horticultural traits.
Objective 3: Develop populations to determine the patterns of inheritance of unique phenotypic variation and develop molecular markers for traits in germplasm collections and breeding stocks to improve nutritional and processing quality, disease resistance, stress tolerance, and yield of Allium, Cucumis, and Daucus vegetables, phenotype observed variation among individuals in populations, and develop genetic models to explain observed genetic patterns.
Information on trait genetics from germplasm evaluation and genetic analysis is useful and sets the stage for developing genetic and breeding stocks, and for establishing information resources for stakeholders.
Objective 4: Summarize and catalog phenotypic, genotypic, and molecular data collected and develop accessible and searchable databases.
Progress Report
Research has been initiated for all milestones including planning for development of new breeding populations, planting germplasm for evaluation in field sites and controlled environments, initiation of disease screening, field phenotyping, laboratory evaluations, and genetic marker analysis. Database development is underway and new data collected has been entered.
Accomplishments
