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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Forage and Range Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315931
Title: Chilling tolerant U.S. processing cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.): three advanced backcross and ten inbred backcross lines

Author
item Staub, Jack
item Gordon, Vanessa
item Simon, Philipp
item WEHNER, TODD - North Carolina State University

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/17/2015
Publication Date: 5/21/2015
Citation: Staub, J.E., Gordon, V.S., Simon, P.W., Wehner, T.C. 2015. Chilling tolerant U.S. processing cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.): three advanced backcross and ten inbred backcross lines. HortScience. 50:1252-1254.

Interpretive Summary: Environmental stresses such as chilling temperatures can reduce seed germination rate, seedling emergence rate, flower and fruit development, marketable yield, and postharvest fruit storage longevity in cucumber. Chilling temperatures occur in unpredictable patterns, making it difficult to implement management practices for crop protection. Since no chilling tolerant U.S. processing cucumber varieties are commercially available, breeding for tolerance to chilling is an attractive management tool to minimize crop loss. Therefore, chilling tolerant cucumber lines were developed by crossing the cultivar Chipper (chilling tolerant with poor horticultural characteristics) with an experimental U.S. processing line (chilling susceptible with acceptable horticultural characteristics) and then selecting for acceptable horticultural quality ahd yield characteristics over five generations through classical plant breeding. The resulting lines from this cross were evaluated for horticultural attributes. This plant breeding and evaluation process yield 13 chilling tolerant processing cucumber lines with acceptable yield and quality that can be used directly by public and private plant breeders to incorporate chilling tolerance into their commercial varieties. The release of such germplasm provides a way of producing cultivars which protect the grower against economic loss associated with chilling temperatures in the early spring at the seedling plant stage. For the grower and consumer such protection of economic investments maximizes fruit quality and yield even after chilling temperatures to reduce production costs.

Technical Abstract: Environmental stresses such as chilling temperatures can reduce seed germination rate, seeding emergence rate, flower and fruit development, marketable yield, and postharvest fruit storage longevity in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Chilling temperatures occur in unpredictable patterns, making it difficult to implement management practices for crop protection. Since no chilling tolerant U.S. processing cucumber varities are commercially available, breeding for tolerance to chilling is an attractive management tool to minimize crop loss. Chilling tolerant cucumber lines were developed by crossing the cultivar Chipper (chilling tolerant with poor horticultral characteristics) with an experimental U.S. processing line (chilling susceptible with acceptable horticultural characteristics), and then selecting for acceptable horticultural quality and yield characteristics over five generations via backcrossing and selfing to the recurrent acceptable parental line (M-29). These lines are designed advance backcross (ABL) that were developed through backcrossing and inbred backcross (IBL) lines that were developed through backcrossing followed by self pollination. Given their general combining ability, and genotypic and phenotypic characteristics when compared to their parents and the check cultivars, 3 chilling tolerant ABL (designated 'Gabrielle' ARS CHBC3, 'Saira' ARS CHBC4, and 'Kodie' ARS CHBC5), and 10 chilling tolerant IBL (designated ARS CHBC2S4-10, -14, -17, -34, -64, -81, -96, -101, -105, and CHBC2S5-28) are being released for commercial use. The ABL and IBL are intended for the development of elite chilling tolerant cultivars. The quality (e.g., size) and yield characteristics of chilling tolerant ABL Gabrielle, Saira, and Kodie and some IBL (e.g., CHBC2S4-14 and -17) are similar to or better than the check cultivar Vlasset under Wisconsin growing conditions.