Evaluation
of
somaclones
of
tomato
under
tropical
conditions
Morales
C
.
,
Santana
N
.
,
and
Xiques
S
.
National
Institute
of
Agricultural
Sciences,
Havana,
CUBA
.
Most
of
the
focus
of
crop
improvement
in
our
country
has
been
based
fundamentally
on
selection
practised
on
indigenous
varieties,
the
introduction
of
exotic
varieties
and
the
hybridisation
of
the
two
types
.
In
recent
years
new
techniques
have
been
incorporated
for
the
creation
of
genetic
variability,
and
agricultural
biotechnology
holds
much
promise
in
the
development
of
horticultural
cultivars
(Gómez
and
Depestre,
1992)
.
Starting
from
the
variety
Campbell
-
28,
(C
-
28)
belonging
to
the
Lycopersicon
esculentum
cv
.
Mill,
grown
under
conditions
of
cultivation
in
vitro,
the
somaclones
selected
were
SC
-
7,
SC
-
8,
SC
-
10,
SC
-
36,
SC
-
37,
(for
their
good
characteristics)
all
coming
from
the
same
callus,
obtained
from
the
National
Institute
of
Agricultural
Sciences
(INCA);
and
the
behaviour
of
these
and
the
donor
were
analysed
in
the
third
generation
.
Variables
of
agricultural
interest,
the
internal
quality
of
the
fruit,
as
well
as
the
disease
incidence
under
our
conditions
were
evaluated
.
In
Table
1
the
analysis
of
variance
of
the
characters
of
agricultural
interest
is
shown,
and
data
given
for
the
internal
quality
of
the
fruits,
where
there
were
significant
differences
between
the
genotypes
studied
for
the
polar
and
equatorial
diameter,
and
the
mass
average
of
the
fruits
.
In
the
results
of
the
test
of
multiple
ranges
of
Duncan
for
these
characters
it
was
observed
that
the
greater
values
were
for
SC
-
36,
C
-
28
SC
-
37,
which
do
not
show
significant
differences
among
each
other
.
Table
1
also
shows
significant
differences
between
genotypes
for
the
total
soluble
solids
and
content
of
vitamin
C
.
The
results
of
the
test
of
multiple
ranges
of
Duncan
(Table
1),
show
that
the
cultivar
containing
greater
soluble
solids
was
SC
-
10,
followed
by
C
-
28,
SC
-
36
and
SC
-
7,
with
no
significant
differences
between
them;
for
the
content
of
vitamin
C,
the
somoclones
SC
-
8,
SC
-
10,
and
C
-
28
gave
the
best
results
.
Table
2
presents
the
response
of
the
above
genotypes
to
the
diseases
in
this
study
.
It
was
observed
that
all
the
somaclones
presented
resistance
to
the
Phytophthora
infestans
virus,
however
only
SC
-
8
and
SC
-
37
were
resistant
to
Xanthomonas
vesicatoria
.
Another
aspect
of
supreme
interest
is
the
tolerance
of
the
fields
of
SC
-
37
and
SC
-
8
to
Alternaria
solani
,
Phytophthora
parasitica
,
and
also
to
Xanthomonas
vesicatoria
.
In
the
end,
SC
-
37
displayed
better
behaviour
in
the
field
in
the
face
of
the
evaluated
disease
.
These
results
show
the
feasibility
of
the
use
of
somaclonal
variation
as
an
alternative
method
in
the
programs
of
improvement
of
the
cultivation
of
tomato,
with
this
example
demonstrating
the
potential
use
in
improving
complex
characters
such
as
disease
resistance
.
Literature
cited:
Gomez
O
.
Y
T
.
Depestre
(1992)
Mejoramiento
genetico
de
Hortalizas