Unravelling the breeding potential of cytolines of Indian cauliflower

Among the cole vegetables (Brassica oleracea L.) , Indian cauliflower holds a predominant position in India in terms of area and production. Cauliflower and other cole vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprout, kale and knolkhol are reservoir of nutrients, vitamins, antioxidant compounds and secondary metabolites like glucosinolates. Thus, enhancing the productivity of cole vegetables is of utmost importance to combat hunger and malnutrition globally. The development of hybrids is one effective way to increase the productivity of vegetable crops. In this context, Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) has proven instrumental in accelerating the breeding programmes of cole vegetables. In the past fewedecades, a large number of cytolines of cauliflower consisting of Ogura cytoplasm have been developed at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, through repeated backcrossing. To unravel the true genetic and breeding potential of these cytolines, the appraisal of morphological, reproductive and seed traits of these lines is essential. The present investigation indicated that some of the CMS lines proved promising and can be exploited in developing high-yielding early hybrids. The results also confirmed a reduction in nectar volume and flower size in cytolines as compared to those of their male fertile counterpart, which was attributed to the introgression of sterile cytoplasm. High heritability estimates also indicated the role of selection in the present germplasm. The introgression of cytoplasm also resulted in changes in petal size and sepal size. The results of the current study are instrumental in formulating a effective breeding strategy for the exploitation of these cytolines in accelerating the breeding of cauliflower.