FRUIT-SET, POLLEN FERTILITY, AND COMBINING ABILITY OF SELECTED TOMATO GENOTYPES UNDER HIGH-TEMPERATURE FIELD CONDITIONS

Selected tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) genotypes were evaluated for their fruit-setting ability under high-temperature field conditions. A temperature-controlled greenhouse study was conducted to determine the percent fruit set from the total number of flowers and fruit produced per plant. Ratings for set obtained under high-temperature field conditions were significantly (P = 0.001) correlated with percent fruit set determined under similar greenhouse conditions. Most of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) selections, Beaverlodge lines, 'Nagcarlan', and 'Red Cherry' could be considered heat-tolerant. Small-fruited, abundantly flowering genotypes were less affected by heat stress than larger-fruited cultivars. Prolonged periods of high temperature caused drastic reductions in pollen fertility in most genotypes, except 'Red Cherry' and L. esculentum var. cerasiforme (PI 190256). Stigma browning and stigma exsertion commonly occurred on all lines, except AVRDC CL-5915-553 and PI 190256. Diallel analyses indicated that pollen fertility and fruit set under high field temperatures were primarily under additive gene control.