Studies on the effect of different cucurbit rootstocks on growth and flowering of grafted muskmelon hybrids

Abstract

The present study was conducted at the All India Coordinated Project on Vegetable Crops, Department of Horticulture, MPKV, Rahuri, to assess graft compatibility of muskmelon varieties on different cucurbitaceous rootstocks. Three commercial muskmelon hybrids (S1, S2 and S3) were used as scions and grafted onto Pumpkin (Arka Chandan, Arka Suryamukhi), Bottle gourd (Arka Bahar, Samrat), and Sponge gourd (Phule Komal, Phule Prajakta) rootstocks. The investigation focused on growth and flowering characters of the grafted vines. Growth traits included vine length, measured from the cotyledonary node to the vine tip, and number of primary branches per vine, recorded at final harvest. Flowering traits studied were days to first male and female flower appearance, node number of first male and female flowers, total number of male and female flowers per vine to estimate sex ratio, and days to first harvest. Data were collected from selected plants in each replication and averaged for analysis. These observations provide valuable information on plant vigour, earliness, and reproductive efficiency, thereby assisting in the identification of compatible graft combinations with desirable growth and flowering behaviour for yield improvement in muskmelon.