An Assessment of Morphology and Yield Characteristics of Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) Genotypes in Northern Bangladesh

Twenty pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) genotypes were characterized for morphological and yield attributes in northern area of Bangladesh during kharif season of 2006. The range of first flowering was at 52.0-73.7 days. The early flowering and early maturity was observed in BD-227 genotype. The range of variability was distinct for vine length at harvest, leaf length, leaf diameter, number of branches per plant. The vine length was maximum (400cm) in BD-242 and minimum (169cm) in BD-255. Leaf length ranged from 30.6-47.2 cm in different genotypes and the number of branches per plant varied from 2.0-4.7. The number of branches per plant was maximum (4.7) in BD-270. Entry BD-268 produced maximum number of fruits (15.7) per plant and the minimum (2.0) was in BD-251. The maximum average fruit weight (4.2kg) was in BD-250 and minimum (1.5kg) in BD-257. There was significant variation with regards to yield of different pumpkin genotypes, which was varied from 5.9 - 36.0 kg. Among the twenty one pumpkin germplasm, the maximum fruit yield (36.1kg/plant) was recorded in BD-243 genotype which was closely related to BD-234 genotype (31.1kg/plant) and minimum (5.9kg/plant) was in BD-270. The qualitative characteristics of these pumpkin genotypes showed also variation in fruit colour and flesh colour. The over all performance among the genotypes, BD-243, BD-268, BD-242, BD-234, BD-288, BD-250 and BD-227 may be utilized in breeding program.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tare.v14i1.4834

Tropical Agricultural Research & Extension 14(1): 2011 7-11