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Title: GENETIC CONTROL OF COLD HARDINESS IN BLUEBERRY

Author
item ARORA, RAJEEV - WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
item Rowland, Lisa
item PANTA, GANESH - UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
item LIM, C - WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
item VORSA, NICK - RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Plant Cold Hardiness Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/2/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This study was undertaken to screen diploid blueberry (Vaccinium, section Cyanococcus) populations that are expected to segregate for cold hardiness, with an overall goal to identify loci controlling cold hardiness using genetic linkage map-based analysis. Two testcross populations, derived from interspecific hybrids of diploid species V. darrowi x V. caesariense, were used for CH evaluations and are being used to generate a molecular- marker based genetic linkage map. The original V. darrowi parent (Fla4B), collected from Florida, has low chilling requirement and is relatively less cold hardy, whereas original V. caesariense parent (W85-20) has relatively high chilling requirement and is hardier than Fla4B. Plants were cold acclimated by exposing them, for four weeks, to 4C. Bud cold hardiness (CH,LT50) of acclimated plants was defined as the temperature causing 50% injury when subjected to controlled freeze-thaw regime. Results show that two parent populations had LT50's of -13.7C (V. darrowi) and -20C (V. caesariense). F1 population exhibited mean LT50 of -14.7C. The V. caesariense and V. darrowi testcross populations had mean LT50s of -17.9C and -13.7C, respectively. Because individuals having LT50 values same as the recurrent parents were present in each population of only 33-39 plants, data suggest that CH is determined by relatively few genes. A generation means analysis was used to test an additive-dominance model for genetic control of cold hardiness.