Production of hybrid cucumber seeds

• US 4,822,949 A
• Filed: 04/20/1987
• Issued: 04/18/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd. (Weizmann Institute of Science)
• Original Assignee: Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd. (Weizmann Institute of Science)
• Inventors: Levy, Margalith, Niego, Shlomo, Galun, Esra
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US07/039,896
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 800/1, 47/58, 47/DIG. 1
• US Class Current: 800/271
• CPC Class Codes: A01H 1/022 Genic fertility modification, e.g. apomixis
• CPC Class Codes: A01H 5/08 Fruits
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 47/01 Methods of plant-breeding and including chromosome multiplication

Abstract

The invention relates to the production of F₁ hybrid seeds in cucumber (Cucumis sativus). The present invention relates to a method wherein the pollen-parent bears only male flowers and thus lacks the capability to bear fruits. The method comprises planting the hybrid seed production field with a mixture of seed-parent and pollen-parent seeds and harvesting the desired F₁ hybrid cucumber seeds from the thus produced fruit on the seed parent.

This invention also relates to hybrid seed produced by the methods of this invention, the hybrid cucumber plant produced from the hybrid cucumber seed, and variants, modifications, and mutants thereof.

Claims

1. A method for the production of F₁ hybrid cucumber seeds which comprises:

(a) growing a pollen-parent cucumber plant comprising an androecious plant which bears only male flowers and which does not produce fruit;

(b) growing a seed-parent cucumber plant which comprises a gynoecious plant which bears only female flowers and produces fruit;

(c) pollinating said seed-parent plant with pollen from said pollen-parent plant to produce fruit having F₁ hybrid seed; and

(d) harvesting said fruit and recovering the F₁ hybrid seed therefrom.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said pollen-parent plant is propagated by (a) contacting an androecious cucumber plant at the 4-leaf stage before flowering with an ethylene-releasing compound to induce the transient appearance of female flowers and (b) sib-pollinating the plants to produce pollen-parent plant seeds.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said ethylene-releasing agent is ethaphon.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein prior to growing, the seeds of the seed-parent and pollen-parent are mixed at a ratio of from 5:

1 to 10;

1 seed-parent;

pollen-parent.

5. F₁ hybrid cucumber seed produced by the method of claim 1.

6. F₁ hybrid cucumber plant grown from the F₁ hybrid cucumber seed of claim 5.