(a) Breeding of bitter gourd and pumpkin

a-1. Breeding of bitter gourd

Bitter gourd is  important fruit vegetable in summer in Taiwan and Asia area. Due to the high production technique required, led to seeds, seedlings and fruits have the high economic value. Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station (TSIPS) wants to promote the fruit quality, yield and increase the farmer’s income, so we have been researching the bitter gourd breeding and research. We planted 28 testcrosses in the farm this year. We compared those testcrosses, some testcrosses had better performance and heat tolerance, such as 109H2P、5P、8P、16P、20P、22P、23P、26P and 27P. In future, we will continue to assess the testcrosses on heat tolerance, quality and yield, selecting the excellent lines to spread regional trails.

▲Fig.1. Selection of the fruit of the excellent trial cross bitter gourd testcross 109H2P、5P、8P、20P and 26P

a-2. Breeding of pumpkin

Pumpkin is a worldwide vegetable and one of the commonly eaten vegetable crops in Taiwan. In the past, due to poor yield and quality, the cropping area was small. In recent years, the cultivation area has gradually expanded. In order to breed high performance hybrid pumpkin that is suitable for Taiwan, the plan is aimed at breeding new pumpkin varieties with high edible quality, high yield and heat-resistant traits. In 109, the cultivation and performance evaluation of 10 pumpkin trial combinations were completed, and the comprehensive performance of 2 hybrid combinations such as 109008 and 109010 was better.

▲Fig.2. Selection of the fruit of the excellent trial cross pumpkin combination No.109008.

(b) Preservation  and application of cucumber  in Tropical Area

Breeding for environment tolerance and high quality of Cucurbitaceae vegetables Improvement of cucumber varieties and collection- TSAI, YA-CHIN Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is the main cultivated fruit and vegetable in Taiwan. The number of female flowers had a great effect on the fruit yield. If plants have parthenocarpy trait, the yield of cucumber might increase. Cucumber in Taiwan cultivated in greenhouse in Kaohsiung and Pingtung. However, high temperature resulted in the change of sex expression of cucumber and bad quality. Breeding F1 cultivars with high femaleness, parthenocarpy, heat-tolerant traits and suitable for planting in greenhouse was our breeding target. 20 S4 and S5 inbred lines were selected for breeding materials. We also finished evaluating 10 test cross and 20 cucumber lines.

▲Fig.3. TSS140 of cucumber cultivation