Breeding system, taxonomy, and breeding strategy in cauliflower, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)

Abstract

Cauliflower, Brassica oleracea var . botrytis, incompatibility, heterosis . SUMMARY Cauliflowers representing those maturing in Britain in autumn, winter and spring were assessed for self-compatibility by self-pollen tube growth . A tendency existed for groups taking longer to mature to be more self-incompatible, but a range of incompatibilities was apparent in all groups . These results complement those of other workers .It is argued that despite demonstrable heterosis within many groups of cauliflowers, radical advances are probably best made by selecting self-compatible material from annual x biennial hybrid populations .

Breeding structure of a highly selected cultivar of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. Capitata)

“…However, many of the cultivated forms of this species inbreed to varying extents. For example, European summer cauliflowers are essentially self-compatible, whereas autumn and winter cauliflowers contain both self-compatible and self-incompatible plants, with the proportion varying considerably from cultivar to cultivar (Watts, 1963;Nieuwhof, 1974;Gray and Crisp, 1977).…”

Leaf and curd production in cauliflower varieties cold-treated before transplanting

“…The results here suggest a genetic association between the spread of curd initiation (and, by inference, curd maturity (Salter, 1969)) and several other growth characters. We cannot define cause and effect in these relationships, but this result gives strength to the suggestion by Gray & Crisp (1977) that radically improved autumn and winter cauliflowers might be bred from annual x biennial hybrids, for perhaps the biennial habit can be recombined with the annual character of a short spread of curd initiation and maturity.…”

“…Variability in maturity time in the biennial type of cauliflower is usually ascribed to the heterogeneity of this kind of variety, for they tend to be out-breeding while the annual varieties usually inbreed (Gray & Crisp, 1977). However, biennial material of known homogeneity (inbred lines) usually still shows considerable variability in maturity time (Crisp, 1977).…”

Genotypic and environmental effects on curd weight of autumn-maturing cauliflowers

“…They emphasized that selection for stability for one environmental variable may not increase stability for another. Gray & Crisp (1977) postulated that the historical radical advances in cauliflower breeding have occurred as a result of hybridization of widely different types (e.g. annuals x biennials) followed by segregation of recombinant types.…”