Abstract
The present investigation was targeted towards a highly desirable everbearing trait in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) via marker assisted selection while seeing its worldwide commercial applicability through the extended harvest season. The crosses were made between everbearing and june-bearing cultivars to raise the F(1) individuals. Morphological characters (plant, floral, and fruit) were assessed that showed significant differences among the strawberry cultivars. Molecular characterization was carried out between everbearing and non-everbearing cultivars using RAPD and SSR markers. For phenotyping, a chi-square test was performed and revealed that out of all four cross combinations, the best fitted cross found to be in Mendelian segregation ratio (1:1) was 'Confectura' × 'Torrey' with χ(2)-value 1.58. Further, the identified polymorphic markers were assessed across the F(1) individuals of cross 'Confectura' × 'Torrey' for its genotyping. It could be revealed that the targeted everbearing trait is governed by a dominant gene(s) in the subjected strawberry genotypes. Further, the identified polymorphic markers would be successfully employed in DNA fingerprinting of strawberry under various crop improvement programme. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version of this article (10.1007/s12298-020-00916-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.