Haploid induction and plant production in bottle gourd by pollination with gamma irradiated pollen

Abstract Bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley] has been used exclusively as rootstocks for Cucurbit crops. Haploid technique increases the selection efficiency for developing resistant bottle gourd varieties. This work focused on haploid induction in bottle gourd through in situ parthenogenesis by pollination with gamma-irradiated pollen. Pollination were carried out for six genotypes of bottle gourd with 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 Gray (Gy) doses of gamma rays. Production of in vitro haploid plants was influenced by irradiation dose, genotype and embyo stage. Seeds at 17 to 21 days after pollination was found to be optimum for embryo rescue. Pollination with irradiated pollen at 100 to 125 Gy was effective for haploid induction. The ploidy level of the 11 parthenogenetic plantlets was confirmed by flow cytometry and 36.3% haploid and 9% triploid plantlets were obtained. This work provides valuable germplasm resources for bottle gourd genetic analysis and breeding programs.