Identification and evaluation of potential beef tomato elders for the crossing material of NIL-Sletr1-2

Abstract

The beef tomato is one of the most popular and valuable tomato fruits in Indonesia. Because of this tomato consumed as fresh fruit, therefore one of the problems is fruit shelf life. Generating new cultivar with longest fruit shelf life will be a challenge such as by the crossing with NIL-Sletr1-2. A NIL Sletr1-2 line has been established in order to address this issue. However, they have never been used as breeding materials to improve the shelf life of beef tomatoes, particularly in Indonesia. The study aims to identify potential beef tomato varieties for hybridization with NIL-Sletr1-2, with an emphasis on ease of emasculation, cross-success rates, and the potential for hybrid seed production. The study was conducted in Lembang, Indonesia, at an altitude of 1250 meters above sea level, from February to September 2023. In this study, five homozygous beef tomato cultivars were crossed with the NIL strain Sletr1-2 with four replications. The results showed that hybridizing beef tomato cultivars with NIL-Sletr1-2 strains for long-shelf-life beef tomato hybrids was influenced by genetic factors. The insensitivity of NIL-Sletr1-2 strains to ethylene had a negative effect on the production of pollen. ‘Roloise’, ‘Mortgage’, and ‘Costoluto’ cultivars have high seed yield potential and are suitable for crossbreeding with NIL-Sletr1-2 strains to produce hybrid seeds.