Variability studies in F5 population of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.)

Abstract

In order to examine the variability and the relationships between yield components, the current study on bottle gourd, titled "Variability studies in F5 population of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.) was conducted at the Dr. YSRHU, College of Horticulture, Venkataramannagudem during the year 2023-24 to evaluate F5 generation of bottle gourd. The experiment was assessed in a Randomized Block Design with three replications. It includes the traits viz., number of branches per plant, node number on which first male flower appears, node number on which first female flower appears, days to first male flower appearance, days to first female flower appearance, sex ratio, days to first harvest, number of fruits per vine, fruit length, fruit diameter, average fruit weight and fruit yield per vine. The research results indicated that high PCV, high GCV were recorded for fruit yield per vine, number of fruits per vine in all the three crosses, high heritability along with high genetic advance was recorded for the trait viz., fruit length, average fruit weight, number of seeds per fruit and fruit yield per vine in cross 1, number of branches per plant, node number on which first male flower appears, number of fruits per vine, fruit length, average fruit weight, fruit diameter and fruit yield per vine in cross 2, number of fruits per vine, fruit length, number of seeds per fruit and fruit yield per vine in cross 3. It implies that these features are controlled by additive gene action and that simple selection can enhance these traits.