Skip Navigation


AOBPreview originally published online on August 11, 2009
Annals of Botany 2009 104(6):1129-1139; doi:10.1093/aob/mcp196
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
104/6/1129    most recent
mcp196v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in Ann Bot
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kouonon, L. C.
Right arrow Articles by Dje, Y.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kouonon, L. C.
Right arrow Articles by Dje, Y.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Kouonon, L. C.
Right arrow Articles by Dje, Y.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Reproductive biology of the andromonoecious Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis (Cucurbitaceae)

Leonie C. Kouonon1,2, Anne-Laure Jacquemart2,*, Arsene I. Zoro Bi1, Pierre Bertin3, Jean-Pierre Baudoin4 and Yao Dje1

1 Laboratoire de Génétique, UFR des Sciences de la Nature, Université d'Abobo-Adjamé, 02 BP 801, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2 Research group ‘Genetics, populations, reproduction’, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix-du-Sud 2, Box 14, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
3 Unité d'écophysiologie et amélioration végétale, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix-du-Sud 2, Box 11, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
4 Unité de Phytotechnie tropicale et d'Horticulture, Faculté universitaire des sciences agronomiques, Passage des Déportés, 2, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium

* For correspondence. E-mail anne-laure.jacquemart{at}uclouvain.be

Received: 4 May 2009    Returned for revision: 3 June 2009    Accepted: 3 July 2009    Published electronically: 11 August 2009

Background and Aims: Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis (Cucurbitaceae) is cultivated in many African regions for its edible kernels used as a soup thickener. The plant, an annual, andromonoecious, trailing-vine species, is of high social, cultural and economic value for local communities. In order to improve the yield of this crop, the first step and our aim were to elucidate its breeding system.

Methods: Eight experimental pollination treatments were performed during three growing seasons to assess spontaneous selfing, self-compatibility and effects of pollen source (hermaphroditic vs. male flowers). Pollination success was determined by pollen tube growth and reproductive success was assessed by fruit, seed and seedling numbers and characteristics. The pollinator guild was surveyed and the pollination distance determined both by direct observations and by indirect fluorescent dye dispersal.

Key Results: The species is probably pollinated by several Hymenoptera, principally by Hypotrigona para. Pollinator flight distances varied from 25 to 69 cm. No evidence for apomixis or spontaneous self-pollination in the absence of insect visitors was found. The self-fertility index (SFI = 0) indicated a total dependence on pollinators for reproductive success. The effects of hand pollination on fruit set, seed number and seedling fitness differed among years. Pollen tube growth and reproductive success did not differ between self- and cross-pollinations. Accordingly, a high self-compatibility index for the fruit set (SCI = 1·00) and the seed number (SCI = 0·98) and a low inbreeding depression at all developmental stages (cumulative {delta} = 0·126) suggest a high selfing ability. Finally, pollen origin had no effect on fruit and seed sets.

Conclusions: This andromonoecious species has the potential for a mixed mating system with high dependence on insect-mediated pollination. The selfing rate through geitonogamy should be important.

Key words: Cucumis melo subsp. agrestis, andromonoecy, breeding system, hand pollination, pollinators, self-compatibility, inbreeding depression


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?

Related articles in Ann Bot:

ContentSnapshots

Ann Bot 2009 104: i. [Extract] [Full Text]  





Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.