A genetic study of some fruit characteristics of the cucumber, Cucumis sativus L

Abstract

MSU 35G and 6902 cucumber lines differ by at least two genes conditioning fruit length with evidence for some small level of dominance for short fruit. Immature fruit color is conditioned by a single incompletely dominant gene. Tapered stem end of cucumber fruit is conditioned by two independently assorted incompletely dominant genes. Partial linkage occurs between at least one of the loci conditioning the tapered neck characteristic and the loci conditioning uniform green immature fruit color and the smooth skinned characteristic of cucumber fruit. Watery skinned fruit have a thick epidermal layer and a compact subepidermal layer composed of a few large cells. Internal cell size in cucumber fruit is independent of epidermal cell thickness.