An integrated model to accelerate the development of seed-propagated varieties of globe artichoke

Globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) is a cross-pollinated, highly heterozygous species, which is conventionally propagated vegetatively. A scheme is described here which combines phenotypic with genotypic selection to fast track the development of a seed-propagated variety. The scheme was tested by making three selections, on a phenotypic basis, from a Brazilian seed-propagated variety showing an high phenotypic variation, but an analogous approach can be adapted to the development of seed propagated cultivars from clonally propagated landraces. Microsatellite and AFLP markers provided a practical and cheap means of conducting marker assisted breeding, which can be easily adopted also in laboratories of small seed companies.