This invention relates to QTL responsible for significantly increased firmness in tomato fruit in the cultivated plant producing said tomato fruit, compared to fruit from a control tomato plant which does not have said genetic elements. A cultivated tomato plant producing tomato fruit with significantly increased fruit firmness and a method for detecting QTLs linked to significantly increased fruit firmness are also provided.

The present invention relates to a cucumber plant (Cucumis sativus) which may comprise genetic information that results in an increase in the number of fruits. The invention also relates to the seeds and progeny of such plants and to propagation material for obtaining such plants. Furthermore the invention relates to the use of the plants, seeds and propagation material that may comprise the genetic information as germplasm in a breeding program.

The invention relates to novel melon plants producing fruits displaying a combination of a long shelf-life trait as well as a maturity indicator trait. The invention also relates to seeds and parts of said plants, for example fruits. The invention further relates to methods of making and using such seeds and plants. The invention also relates to novel genetic sequences associated with a rind-turning phenotype at maturity, which, when combined with a long shelf-life allele, significantly alters the characteristics of the maturing melon fruit, functions as a reliable maturity indicator while retaining suitable marketable features and results in a novel melon plant type.

The present invention relates to Cucumis melo plant having a modified lncRNA gene according to SEQ ID NO: 1, or according to a sequence having at least 50% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 1, having a modification, wherein the modification comprises an insertion, a deletion or a substitution of at least one nucleotide. The modified lncRNA gene has a changed function, a reduced function, or is non-functional. The modification is suitably in the second exon and can be a G1571A mutation at position 1571 in SEQ ID NO: 1. Presence of the modified lncRNA gene confers improved shelf life of the fruits, when compared to fruits of an isogenic melon plant lacking the modified lncRNA gene. The improved shelf life of the fruits is characterized by a prolonged firmness of the fruit flesh, and/or by a delay of the ethylene peak during ripening of the fruits.