Transgressive segregation in F4 generation of intervarietal crosses of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Many plant breeders have reported transgressive segregations in hybrid progenies and suggested transgressive segregation may be used as a positive tool in plant breeding. The conventional idea of hybridization is to develop a new hybrid derivative for recombination of desirable characteristics already observed in their parents; perhaps a more appropriate approach is to consider the possibilities of transgressive segregation. Transgressive segregation refers to appearance of individuals, in the progeny from a hybrid, which exceed either of the two parents of the hybrid with respect to one or more characters. Such plants are produced by accumulation of favourable genes from both the produced by accumulation of favourable genes from both the parents as a consequence of segregation and recombination. Success in obtaining the desired transgressive segregants depends on obtaining genetic recombination between both linked and unlinked alleles (Briggs and Allard, 1953). In this regard, the pedigree method of breeding has been designed for the production of transgressive segregants (Singh, 2002). Keeping in view of the importance of transgressive segregants, the present investigation was carried out in F3 generation of interietal crosses or tomato.