No abstract

SummaryOne hundred and eighty-eight cultivars of oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) native to Japan were evaluated for fruit ripening time (FRT), fruit weight (FW), and soluble solids content (SSC). A high heritability for each of these traits was conserved in this population; the overall mean and SD of FRT, FW and SSC were early to mid-November and 15 days, 200 g and 72 g, and 17.0% and 1.7%, respectively. Subgroups of PCA (pollination constant-astringent) and PVNA (pollination variant-nonastringent) showed wide variations for each trait. As to mean values, the PVNA group had slightly earlier FRT and higher SSC than the PCA group but their FW were similar. PCNA (pollination constant-nonastringent) group showed the latest FRT and the SSC was intermediate between those of PCA and PVNA groups; whereas, PVA (pollination variant-astringent) had the earliest FRT with the lowest SSC. The PCNA and PVA groups had larger fruits than the PCA and PVNA groups. Variations in FRT and SSC of PCNA were characteristically small, which suggest that these cultivars evolved later than the others.There is a weak, negative correlation between FW and SSC and a weak, positive one between FRT and FW. The percentage of early ripening cultivars was higher in cultivars which originated in the northern areas of Japan in contrast to those developed in southern regions.

SummaryFruit maturing time (FMT), fruit weight (FW), and soluble solids content (SSC) were evaluated for 83 pollination-constant astringent oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) culitvars of Japanese origin at Akitsu, Hiroshima, Japan, and 132 cultivars of Chinese origin at Meixian, Shaanxi, China. The data on FMT and FW were adjusted by adding correction constants for the effect of location. Results showed that there were little differences in the mean and variation between the cultivar groups of the two origins for FMT and FW. There was a small difference in the mean SSC, although the variance was larger in the Chinese than in the Japanese cultivars.

No abstract

We obtained nonaploid plants by embryo culture of imperfect seeds derived from a cross between 'Fuyu' and 'Taishuu', both of which are commercially important persimmon cultivars. Furthermore, we aimed to clarify the origin of nonaploid plants derived from imperfect seeds. Of 1078 seeds, 68 were imperfect; this accounted for 6.3% of the total number. Ten of the 68 seeds germinated into seedlings, and two produced abnormal plantlets without meristems at both the shoot apex and root tip. The remaining eight produced normal-appearing plantlets with normal growth. Two seedlings were recovered from the abnormal plantlets via callus, and grew vigorously in the greenhouse. Cytogenetic analysis confirmed that these two seedlings were nonaploids. Parental analysis using four simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers, D.CT-13, 24, 61 and 179, showed that each nonaploid seedling had alleles originating from the parents, indicating that they were generated by syngamy. The two nonaploid seedlings had alleles of 222 bp at D.CT-61, which is peculiar to the pollen parent, 'Taishuu', whereas they did not have an allele of 136 or 140 bp at D.CT-179, which is peculiar to the seed parent, 'Fuyu'. These results suggest that they might be derived from fertilization of a reduced female gamete with an unreduced male gamete.