Geoffrey Meru at UF IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Florida and his team have been researching Calabaza’s qualities as a sustainable crop to grow commercially in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Puerto Rico.
CucCAP Squash Team
CucCAP Squash Team contributions include annual reports of research activities, publications, presentations, and articles about the team’s research efforts and accomplishments.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Gregory Inzinna
Gregory Inzinna hopes to identify resistance genes in Cucurbita and provide the seed and vegetable industry with resistant breeding lines and markers they can use in their work.
Squash Team | 2023 Progress Report
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Prerna Sabharwal
Prerna Sabharwal is a graduate student working on her PhD in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at the University of Florida. Her major Professor is CucCAP Squash breeder, Dr. Geoffrey Meru. The focus of Prerna’s research includes plant breeding, plant pathology, and genomics.
CucCAP Squash Team | Research Publications
The CucCAP squash team published 6 journal articles in 2022 & 2023, 7 journal articles in 2021, and 5 journal articles in 2020.
CucCAP scientists genetically characterize the USDA germplasm collections for squashes and pumpkins
This article presents the analysis of genotype data generated through genotyping-by-sequencing of the USDA germplasm collections of Cucurbita pepo, C. moschata, and C. maxima.
CucCAP scientists use genomic approaches to facilitate breeding for PRSV-W resistance in squash
Papaya ringspot virus-W (PRSV-W) causes severe yield losses in squash production. The Meru laboratory at the University of Florida identified a single QTL for resistance on Chromosome 09 of the C. moschata genome. Subsequent testing identified two SNP markers as potential targets for marker-assisted selection. The findings of this study will facilitate breeding for resistance against PRSV-W in commercial squash cultivars.
Early Career Scientist Spotlight | Libby Indermaur
Libby is identifying which of Michael Mazourek’s Cucurbita moschata and C. maxima breeding lines are: 1) resistant to powdery mildew and 2) candidate replacements for the susceptible cultivars used in the processing industry.
