Production and characterization of new triploid seedless progenies for mandarin improvement

Eighty-six triploid Citrus plants were recovered from interploid crosses between a natural tetraploid selection of the tangerine ‘Dancy’ (Citrus reticulata Blanco, cultigroup ‘Tangerine’), used as the pollen parent, and two seedy selections of diploid mandarins (C. reticulata Blanco) as well as one clementine (Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan.): ‘Fortune’ mandarin, ‘Wilking’ mandarin and ‘Monreal’ clementine. Flow cytometric analysis was used for screening the triploid plantlets and the ISSR-PCR technique was used to characterize the obtained triploids through a double approach, confirming the hybrid nature of the offspring and allowing the analysis of the genetic pool obtained. Selection among triploid genotypes generated from elite seedy parents will give us a better chance to obtain superior mandarin cultivars characterized by true seedlessness.