Genetic and Hormonal Control of Parthenocarpy in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract

Inheritance of parthenocarpy in cucumber was controlled by a single dominant gene expressing incomplete dominance. A genetic factor for parthenocarpy was associated with high content of indoleacetic acid (IAA) in the ovary; content of IAA in unpollinated ovaries was higher in genetically parthenocarpic 'Pandex' than in non-parthenocarpic 'Khira'. Pollination or 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (4-CPA) treatment caused an increase of IAA content in both the cultivars and their F1, whereas there seemed no relationship between abscisic acid (ABA) content and parthenocarpic fruit set.