Morpho-Agronomic Evaluation of <i>Lagenaria siceraria</i> Landraces and Their F₁ Populations

Abstract

Lagenaria siceraria is one of the most important cucurbitaceous vegetables due to its prolific bearing habit, its edibility as a cooked vegetable, and its low cost of cultivation. The objective of this study was to evaluate variation in the morpho-agronomic traits among selected landraces and their F1 populations. The landraces were crossed based on the North Carolina II genetic design to develop F1 populations. The twelve F1 populations along with seven parental landraces were grown in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Significant differences (p 1 progenies were more variable than the landraces and can therefore be used for further Lagenaria siceraria genetic improvement.

Keywords

• genotypes
• F₁
• qualitative
• quantitative traits
• genetic variability
• fruit