Breeding for Powdery Mildew Resistant Varieties in Cucurbita moschata

Abstract

To breed powdery mildew resistant varieties, 104 accessions of Cucurbita spp. germplasm were evaluated. Powdery mildew resistance and horticultural characteristics of the accessions were investigated in the field conditions. C. martinezii was selected for high resistance to powdery mildew in the field. The growth of powdery mildew pathogen and response of leaf surface tissue to the pathogen were observed after artificial inoculation to resistant C martinezii and susceptible C. moschata cv. 'Wonye No.402'. Mycelium growth was very clearly different between resistant C. martinezii and susceptible C moschata cv. 'Wonye No. 402' at 5 days after inoculation at the adult stage. Interspecific hybridization was attempted to transfer powdery mildew resistance gene(s) from C. martinezii to C. moschata. A single dominant gene action was postulated as deter mining powdery mildew resistance at the seedling stage. But for the effective selection of powdery mildew resistant individuals, it was established that adult plant resistance should be confirmed in the field conditions after the seedling test. Through the seedling and field tests, C. moschata lines resistant to powdery mildew and superior to horticultural characteristics, were selected after 2 backcrossing and 3 selfing generations. The fruit characteristics of newly developed lines were similar to those of the recurrent parent, 'Jaechenjarae'.