Evaluation of Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) Accessions for Morphological and Yield Characteristics, and Resistance to Viral Diseases in Sri Lanka

Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) is a vital crop in Sri Lanka due to its nutritional and economic significance. Pumpkins are vulnerable to diverse viral infections, often resulting in substantial yield and quality losses. The present study was conducted at Onesh Agri (Pvt) Ltd.'s farm in Thanamalwila (DL1 b), Sri Lanka. The study aimed to evaluate the viral disease resistance and morphological traits including number of laterals per vine, time to first female flower, leaf length and width and yield traits, including days to commercial harvest, number of fruits per vine, weight of fruit, fruit length and breadth of 60 pumpkin accessions developed by the World Vegetable Center, Taiwan, under local environmental conditions. The experiment followed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with border rows planted with the virus-susceptible F1 variety Suprema as a control. Based on their quantitative traits, hierarchical cluster analysis grouped tested accessions into two major cluster groups, comprising 23 and 34 accessions in groups 1 and 2, respectively. Among these, 11 accessions namely, PUMP003, PUMP009, PUMP017, PUMP019, PUMP023, PUMP026, PUMP030, PUMP033, PUMP034, PUMP043, and PUMP047 demonstrated partial resistance to common viral diseases. Notably, PUMP017 (36.5±1.18) was identified as early flowering, while PUMP033 (62.0±1.95) early fruiting. The PUMP026 (5.6±0.48) produced the highest number of fruits per vine, and PUMP030 (4121.0±195.98 g) yielded the heaviest fruits with favorable fruit dimensions and flesh thickness. These findings provide valuable insights for future pumpkin breeding programs aimed at developing new varieties with enhanced resistance to viral diseases in the Sri Lankan context.