Selection of interspecific vine cacti hybrids (<i>Hylocereus</i> spp.) for self‐compatibility

Abstract

With 2 figures and 1 table Abstract Self‐incompatibility (SI) is the major factor that limits the development of the exotic fruit crops belonging to Hylocereus species. The selection of self‐compatible (SC) hybrids would greatly benefit growers by eliminating the need to grow complementary cultivars for cross‐pollination. With this breeding objective in mind, a total of 182 plants that resulted from the first and second generations of hybrids and a first generation of back‐crosses were screened for SC. Five hybrids, all of which were a cross between the triploid hybrid ‘S‐75’ and the diploid Hylocereus undatus , were found to be fully SC; they exhibited similar fruit weights and similar total seed numbers following cross‐ or self‐pollination. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that all the SC hybrids were tetraploids, suggesting a possible relation between SC and ploidy level. Further studies will be needed for an efficient identification of SC hybrids during their juvenile period.