INTEREST OF IRRADIATED POLLEN FOR OBTAINING HAPLOID VEGETABLES

This method has been successfully adapted in France at INRA since 1987 for various vegetables and results concerning muskmelon, onion, cabbage, carrot, cucumber and watermelon are presented here.

This method is especially interesting for several of these species where no haploids had been obtained before.
In the case of muskmelon it is now used routinely in breeding programmes.

The conditions required vary from one species to another: for instance the efficient dose of radiation depends on pollen type.

For muskmelon, genotype and season influence the quantity of haploids.
In the case of this species, the cellular process of induction of haploid embryos could be investigated.
For onion and cabbage, male sterility and recessive markers were required, whereas no embryo rescue was necessary for onion.

The interest of the method for the various species are discussed.