Breeding tomatoes suitable for protected cultivation (Polyhouse) and confirmation of hybridity by SSR markers

In the present investigation on development of indeterminate high yielding hybrid/variety in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) suitable for polyhouse cultivation, the study was carried out from June 2015 to May 2018. For this study, 51 tomato genotypes were collected from ICAR-NBPGR (Hyderabad), IIVR (Varanasi), IIHR (Bangalore) and from PAU (Ludhiana). These 51 tomato germplasm lines were evaluated for growth, yield and quality parameters across two different seasons. Based on performance, ten best performing accessions were selected and used as parents for hybrid development through Line x Tester analysis. From which, 21 hybrids were developed and evaluated for growth, yield and quality traits. Out of 21 hybrids, five promising hybrids were identified based on genetic analysis namely, EC160885 x EC 163605, Punjab Sartaj x EC163605, IHR2042 x EC163605, Punjab Sartaj x IIVR BT-10, IIHR2042 x IIVRBT-10. Their respective parents -- EC160885 (NBPGR, Hyderabad), Punjab Sartaj (PAU, Punjab), IIHR2042 (IIHR, BGL), EC163605 (NBPGR, Hyderabad) and IIVRBT-10 (IIVR, Varanasi) were also evaluated to confirm their potential. Among the hybrids Punjab Sartaj x EC163605, IIHR2042 x EC163605 and IIHR2042 x IIVR BT-10 were identified as best performing hybrids for growth, yield and quality parameters. The hybridity of these hybrids was confirmed through microsatellite markers (SSRs) which are highly suitable for accessing genetic purity and cultivar identification. These SSR markers revealed polymorphic bands between the parents and hybrids, thus confirming their genotypic purity as true hybrids. These promising hybrids may be recommended for large scale evaluation under polyhouse condition.