STUDIES ON GENETIC VARIABILITY AND ITS CHARACTER ASSOCIATION IN WATERMELON [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf.]
Loading...
Date
2019-08
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot
Abstract
The investigation on “Studies on genetic variability and its character association in watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf.]” was conducted during the year 2018-19 at Haveli farm, Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, Bagalkot, Karnataka. Twenty three genotypes of watermelon were evaluated in randomized block design with two replications and significant differences were observed among genotypes for all the characters studied.
High PCV and GCV were observed for the characters vine length, number of branches, node at first female flower appeared, sex ratio, average fruit weight, number of fruits per vine, fruit yield per vine, fruit yield per plot, fruit yield per hectare, rind thickness, pulp to seed ratio, number of seeds per fruit and hundred seed weight. This indicated maximum variability and offers good scope for crop improvement by simple selection. High estimates of heritability coupled with high values of GAM were observed for the characters under study except days to first male flowering and days to first fruit harvest indicates predominance of additive component for these traits and hence direct selection would be more effective in improvement of these traits.
Character association studies revealed that the fruit yield per vine had significant and positive association with number of branches, average fruit weight, number of fruits per vine, rind thickness, flesh thickness, pulp to seed ratio, days to first male flowering and fruit diameter. Path coefficient analysis revealed that number of fruits per vine, average fruit weight and pulp to seed ratio had high direct positive effect on fruit yield indicating their true positive and significant association with yield.
Based on Mahalanobis‟s D2 analysis, the 23 genotypes were grouped into four clusters. The cluster III showed maximum intra-cluster distance, whereas, the maximum inter cluster distance was observed between cluster II and IV. Fruit yield per vine contributed maximum to genetic diversity. Genotypes viz., WM-12, WM-13, WM-14, WM-23 and WM-10 recorded high fruit yield per vine. Therefore, these genotypes can be further assessed for their stability.