Given the growing importance of the saladette fresh tomato market in Brazil, the objective of this paper was to assess the combining abilities of lines potentially useful as parents of hybridsin this class. The experiment consisted of28 genotypes, 18 hybrids from a partial diallel crossobtained from crossing two groups of tomato lines (Group I, with 9 parents, and Group II, with 2 parents), 8 F1 experimental hybrids, and 2 commercial checks. Traits evaluated were total yield, mean fruit mass, fruit shelf life, shape and percentsoluble solids. Additive genetic effects were generally more important than non-additive effects for all traits evaluated. The TOM-542 and TOM-734 lines, from group I, and the TOM-720 line, from group II, presented high general combining ability (GCA) estimates for most of the traits of importance for saladette tomatoes, and were therefore considered suitable parents of hybrids of this class. Higher fruit shelf life of TOM-723 as a parental line compared with TOM-720 (Group II), was mainly attributed to the presence in the former of the norA allele, which controls longer fruit shelf life. F1 hybrids (TOM-542 x TOM-720), (TOM-580 x TOM-720), (TOM-734 x TOM-720), and (TOM-727 x TOM-720) showed good performance and fruit quality and thus constitute possible commercial varieties.
Solanum lycopersicum; saladette tomatoes; partial diallel
