Heterosis studies in Pumpkin

Abstract

An experiment on “Heterosis studies in Pumpkin” was conducted at Instructional farm, Department of vegetable science, Faculty of Horticulture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeetth, Akola, Maharashtra, during Summer-2023. The experiment was laid out in Randomized block design with two replications. The performance of thirty F₁ hybrids developed from eleven parents (6 x 5) of pumpkin using Line x Tester mating design, was evaluated to assess the extent of heterosis for fruit yield and yield-related traits. Standard heterosis and heterobeltiosis for fruit yield per vine ranged from 3.24 to 67.47 % and 30.00 to 178.11 %, respectively. Among the hybrids, IC-618054 × IC-320175 exhibited the highest standard heterosis and heterobeltiosis. The observed heterosis for fruit yield was primarily attributed to the pronounced heterotic expression of yield component traits, namely number of fruits per vine, fruit weight, flesh thickness, and fruit diameter, which contributed significantly to enhanced fruit yield per vine. Therefore, the selection of superior crosses based on their heterotic value would be more effective for improving fruit yield in pumpkin.