Heterosis for the improvement of yield in mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek].

Heterotic effects of mungbean hybrids from 25 crosses between parents differing in 9 agronomic and physiological traits were evaluated for various selected traits and seed yield. Significant heteroses were observed in most selected traits, except for the number of seeds per plant. When the heterosis of seed yield was evaluated in these hybrids, significant heterosis was found in 9 crosses, which were selected based on the number of pods per plant, number of clusters per plant, pod length, number of seeds per pod, total dry matter, and root length density. These crosses may be exploited for mungbean yield improvement. Nine F8 lines from 2 of these 9 crosses (KPS 1 x V 2106 and SUT 1 x V 4785), a selection based on significant heterosis for seed yield and high seed yield of F1 and F2, which possessed a higher seed yield than their respective certified variety parents, were identified and these may be useful in future breeding programs.

Evaluation of genetic variability in in vitro sodium azide-induced Dendrobium 'Earsakul' mutants.

In vitro mutagenesis of Dendrobium 'Earsakul' was carried out by incubating the protocorm-like bodies in 0-5 mM sodium azide for 1 h. Twenty-eight putative mutants were evaluated for genetic variability compared to untreated control plants using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis. Polymorphic fragments were produced by 9 of 12 ISSR primers. A total of 173 amplified ISSR fragments varying in size from 140 to 5000 bp were obtained, 39 of which were polymorphic (22.5%). Of the 28 putative mutants, 15 (53.6%) showed altered genetic profiles compared to control and were identified as mutants. These results suggest that sodium azide can be effectively utilized to generate mutants in Dendrobium 'Earsakul', and ISSR provides a powerful tool that allows efficient early detection of these mutants. The identified mutants are currently being multiplied for further evaluation of their horticultural characteristics.

Inheritance of downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) and anthracnose (Sphaceloma ampelinum) resistance in grapevines.

Downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) and anthracnose (Sphaceloma ampelinum) are two of the major diseases of most grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars grown in Thailand. Therefore, breeding grapevines for improved downy mildew and anthracnose resistance is crucial. Factorial crosses were made between three downy mildew and/or anthracnose resistant lines ('NY88.0517.01', 'NY65.0550.04', and 'NY65.0551.05'; male parents) and two or three susceptible cultivars of V. vinifera ('Black Queen', 'Carolina Black Rose', and/or 'Italia'; female parents). F1 hybrid seedlings were evaluated for downy mildew and anthracnose resistance using a detached/excised leaf assay. For both diseases, the general combining ability (GCA) variance among male parents was significant, while the variance of GCA among females and the specific combining ability (SCA) variance were not significant, indicating the prevalence of additive over non-additive gene actions. The estimated narrow sense heritabilities of downy mildew and anthracnose resistance were 55.6 and 79.2%, respectively, suggesting that downy mildew/anthracnose resistance gene(s) were highly heritable. The 'Carolina Black Rose x NY65.0550.04' cross combination is recommended for future use.

Application of ISSR markers for verification of F1 hybrids in mungbean (Vigna radiata).

Mungbean improvement via hybridization requires the identification of true F(1) hybrids from controlled crosses before further generations of selfing/crossing and selection. We utilized inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers for identifying putative F(1) hybrids from six cross combinations whose morphological characteristics were very similar to those of their respective female parents and could not be visually discriminated from the self-pollinated progeny. Based on 10 ISSR primers, polymorphisms were found between female and male parents of all six cross combinations. The highest value of genetic differentiation (21.4%) was found between male and female parents of the SUT3 x M5-1 cross. These 10 ISSR primers gave 2.8-25.0% polymorphism between male and female parents, with a mean of 12.1%, and 0-13.0% polymorphism between F(1) hybrid and female parents, with a mean of 4.8%. F(1) hybrids of all six cross combinations could be differentiated from the self-pollinated progeny of their female parents by using only either ISSR 841 or 857 primers, together with the ISSR 835 primer. We conclude that ISSR markers are useful and efficient for identifying mungbean F(1) hybrids in controlled crosses from different genetic background.

Association of RGA-SSCP markers with resistance to downy mildew and anthracnose in grapevines.

Downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) and anthracnose (Sphaceloma ampelinum) are two major diseases that severely affect most grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivars grown commercially in Thailand. Progress of conventional breeding programs of grapevine for improved resistance to these diseases can be speeded up by selection of molecular markers associated with resistance traits. We evaluated the association between 13 resistance gene analog (RGA)-single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) markers with resistance to downy mildew and anthracnose in 71 segregating progenies of seven cross combinations between susceptible cultivars and resistant lines. F(1) hybrids from each cross were assessed for resistance to downy mildew and anthracnose (isolates Nk4-1 and Rc2-1) under laboratory conditions. Association of resistance traits with RGA-SSCP markers was evaluated using simple linear regression analysis. Three RGA-SSCP markers were found to be significantly correlated with anthracnose resistance, whereas significant correlation with downy mildew resistance was observed for only one RGA-SSCP marker. These results demonstrate the usefulness of RGA-SSCP markers. Four candidate markers with significant associations to resistance to these two major diseases of grapevine were identified. However, these putative associations between markers and resistance need to be verified with larger segregating populations before they can be used for marker-assisted selection.