History of development and results of selection of Solanaceae crops in FSBSI FSVC

The article presents a brief history of the establishment of the Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Seed Production of Solanaceae Crops of FSBSI FSVC. The process of development of tomato, pepper, eggplant and physalis breeding is shown from the beginning of the establishment until the present time. Practical selection of Solanaceae crops in FSBSI FSVC is directly connected with the name of Academician VASKhNIL A.V. Alpatyev, who is the founder of scientific research on thermophilic crops. On the basis of conducted scientific researches the technique of creation of cold-resistant, early-ripening cultivars of tomato was developed, including influence of certain conditions on parental forms and hybrid material from its first generations to increase adaptability to new, not characteristic conditions of selected material. Subsequently, this technique was applied to the breeding of sweet pepper, eggplant and physalis. Interspecific hybridisation was used to enrich the gene pool of Solanaceous crops. As a result of distant hybridization, the following cultivars were created: the original tomato cultivar Severyanin with large parthenocarpic fruits on 1 and 2 racemes; an anadrous mutant for use in breeding; ultra-rapid, short-stage forms for obtaining heterosis effect; the cultivar Vkusny with increased content of dry matter in fruits. On the basis of interspecific hybrid of Ph. ixocarpa x Ph. angulata, the cultivars Dessert and Lakomka, characterized by high yield and resistance to diseases, high content of sugars, pectin and absence of bitterness, are created. Types of pepper Capsicum chinense, C. frutescens and C. annuum were used to create resistant forms to viral diseases. Involvement of wild eggplant species (Solanum aethiopicum, S. macrocarpon) to the breeding process allowed to obtain hybrid combinations with flavonoids content 1,3 times higher and phenolcarboxylic acids 1,6–1,7 times higher than in S. melongena.The development of theoretical bases ofSolanaceae crops breeding for resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors, as well as for high quality production, allowed to create a series of cosmopolitan cultivars, which at present are in demand, both in production and as a source material. The current scientific priorities are to use innovative biotechnology and molecular marking methods to accelerate the breeding process and improve selection efficiency.