INDUCCIÓN DE VARIABILIDAD EN EL VIGOR DE PLÁNTULA, CARACTERES MORFOLÓGICOS Y AUTOINCOMPATIBILIDAD DE PLANTAS M1 DE TRES VARIEDADES DE Physalis ixocarpa Brot. MEDIANTE RAYOS GAMMA 60Co

Background. The husk tomato (Physalis ixocarpa Brot. ex Horm.) is an obligated allogam species with gametophyte auto-incompatibility, which impedes the generation of endogamic lines by auto-fecundation to obtain hybrids. Objective. To evaluate the effect of six doses of ⁶⁰Co gamma rays (from 0 to 300 Gy) applied to seeds, over seedling vigor, growth and reproductive features of M₁ plants of three husk tomato varieties (Manzano, Verde Puebla, and San Miguel). Methodology. The 18 treatments were distributed in a completely randomized design with five replications for the variables related to seedling vigor and 10 replications for the morphological and reproductive plant variables. Results. The radiation decreased emergency and survival of seedlings, height, and length of roots of M₁ seedling. Regarding the growth of M₁ plants, the doses of 100 and 300 Gy stimulated only height, the other doses had the same response as the control. Irradiation did not change self-incompatibility, as no fruit produced seed. Implications. The study allows to determine the sensitivity of the peel tomato to irradiation, by subjecting seeds to different doses of gamma rays and assess whether it is possible to obtain outstanding individuals in force and flowers that present self-fertilization, considering all the advantages of this type of pollination (form lines, to generate hybrids). Conclusions. The M₁ plants of the varieties Manzano and Verde Puebla excelled in growth; but those of San Miguel presented more self-pollinated flowers. The three varieties resulted sensitive to radiation; but growth variables varied depending on the variety and dose of radiation.