Mapping flowering time QTLs in watermelon wild relative Citrullus amarus.

ABSTRACT:

Key message

Widely used rootstock 'Carolina strongback' delays female flowering of scion(s). Two stable QTLs influencing female flowering time and fruiting time across the seasons and years were identified on chromosome 3. Inbred lines of Citrullus amarus, a wild relative of cultivated watermelon, are widely used as rootstocks to control soil-borne diseases for watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) production. The most commonly used watermelon rootstock, 'Carolina strongback' (Syngenta, Basel, Switzerland) flowers weeks later than commercial watermelon cultivars, which delays the onset of female flowering (DFF) of the scion, leading to an undesirable delay in fruit maturity and harvesting. Understanding the genetics of DFF in a C. amarus population will facilitate the development of roots

SUBMITTER: Ganaparthi VR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12696047 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature