Tetraploid induction by colchicine treatment and crossing with a diploid reveals less-seeded fruit production in pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica roxb.)

Pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.) (2n = 2x = 22) is a dioecious cucurbit vegetable and green fruit that is edible after cooking. Consumers prefer to consume seedless or less-seeded fruit because seeds are unpalatable due to their hard coats. Therefore, the cross compatibility between the diploid and induced tetraploid will be helpful for seedless or less-seeded fruit production. Thus, the present study was conducted using mature seeds that were immersed in 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.5% colchicine for 24, 48, and 72 h to induce tetraploids. These tetraploids were used as parents (male or female) in the inter-ploidy and intra-ploidy crosses. A flow cytometric analysis confirmed the induction of three tetraploids at 0.5% colchicine for 48 and 72 h soaking periods. Among these, two (2) females and one (1) male were differentiated after flower initiation. Crossing between the tetraploid’s maternal and diploid paternal parent (4x × 2x), which were revealed to be compatible, resulted in a similar fruit set rate and shape as those of the diploid. In addition, a seed number of 4x × 2x produced fruits that were drastically reduced to 1.8 seeds per fruit, whereas the natural diploid fruits had 26.4 seeds per fruit. These findings suggest that colchicine-induced tetraploid females are important genetic resources for less-seeded fruit production. The genetic stability of tetraploid clones can easily and effectively be maintained by vine cutting for advanced uses.