Projects

Programme "Rila" offers great opportunities to accelerate the processes of research cooperation between France and Bulgaria. Diversity and inheritance studies of melon sex and fruit characteristics are issues that underlie heterosis breeding and are the subject of current research. Generally accepted principles of genetic inheritance of sex in plants, characteristics of fruits and productivity, as well as specific requirements to fruits quality of consumers from both parties put our cooperation in the plane of complementarity in research.
The main objective of this project is to increase knowledge of genetic variability and mode of inheritance of agronomical traits, such as flowering types and characteristics of melon fruit in order to be developed new hybrid combinations. The planned multi-disciplinary approach to solve the goal requires the use of advanced methods to study diversity of genetic resources, breeding, phenotyping, genotyping and biological statistics.
The following specific results are expected:
- Evaluation of melon genetic resources for agronomical traits;
- New knowledge about inheritance of flowering types in melon;
- Variety and inheritance of fruit characteristics;
- Exploration of heterosis effect in hybrid combinations from different flowering types.
Melon (Cucumis melo L.) breeding is concentrated in several scientific centers all over the world. From across the European Union, institutions in France, Spain and Bulgaria are actively engaged in genetic and breeding research. In this sense, the co-operation of efforts in scientific fields of mutual interest will contribute to more effective implementation of breeding programs, introduction of new ideas and participation in projects to the EC and other partnerships. Programme "Rila" offers great opportunities to accelerate the processes of research cooperation between France and Bulgaria. Diversity and inheritance studies of melon sex and fruit characteristics are issues that underlie heterosis breeding and are the subject of current research. Generally accepted principles of genetic inheritance of sex in plants, characteristics of fruits and productivity, as well as specific requirements to fruits quality of consumers from both parties put our cooperation in the plane of complementarity in research.
The main objective of this project is to increase knowledge of genetic variability and mode of inheritance of agronomical traits, such as flowering types and characteristics of melon fruit in order to be developed new hybrid combinations. The planned multi-disciplinary approach to solve the goal requires the use of advanced methods to study diversity of genetic resources, breeding, phenotyping, genotyping and biological statistics.
The following specific results are expected:
- Evaluation of melon genetic resources for agronomical traits;
- New knowledge about inheritance of flowering types in melon;
- Variety and inheritance of fruit characteristics;
- Exploration of heterosis effect in hybrid combinations from different flowering types.

Coordinator of the research team Assoc. Prof. PhD Nikolay Velkov