Inheritance and Morphology of Two Dwarf Mutants in Watermelon1

Abstract

Abstract An inheritance study of 2 dwarf mutants in watermelon showed that dwarfness in each form is due to single, non-allelic, recessive genes designated dw-1 and dw-2. Dwarfness in dw-1 and dw-2 plants was primarily attributed to reduced length of internodes, but there was also some reduction in the number of internodes in the dwarfs compared to the normal plants. The shorter internodes in dw-1 dwarfs were due to both fewer and shorter cells than in the internodes of vine forms. In the dw-2 dwarf most of the reduction in internode length was due to fewer cells.