Background:
Cauliflower is a highly self-incompatible species. While this allows ready production of hybrid seeds, maintenance of self-incompatible lines has restricted heterosis breeding based on selfincompatibility. Consequently, varietal breeding has dominated public sector cauliflower cultivars. Higher yield, greater uniformity and better curd quality of F1 hybrids call for heterosis breeding in cauliflower. CMS lines based on radish ‘Ogura’ cytoplasm have been found to be less promising due to undesirable floral phenotype and low seed fertility. Erucastrum canariense based male sterility in Brassica oleracea (cauliflower) is not bound by such limitations.:
Technology Details:
Maintenance of self-incompatible lines has restricted heterosis breeding based on selfincompatibility. Ogura and tournefortii male sterile systems exhibit undesirable floral phenotype and low seed fertility due to plastid incompatibility. ICAR-NIPB has developed a CMS system in cauliflower by transferring Erucastrum canariense based male sterility in Brassica oleracea (cauliflower). This CMS line of cauliflower provides a suitable CMS system that ensures good female fertility and superior phenotypes in the hybrids. In addition, the system also provides a diversification from the existing CMS systems. This CMS line of cauliflower is readily usable in hybrid seed production of cauliflower.