Improvement of fruit taste quality of ‘egusi’ melon (Colocynthis citrullus L.) through hybridization with watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thumb.)
Keywords:
Crossability, Cucurbitacin, ‘Egusi’melon, Fruit quality, Inheritance pattern, WatermelonAbstract
The research was aimed to improve fruit taste in ‘egusi’ melon through generic hybridization with watermelon. Three accessions of ‘egusi’ melons (Egu) seeds were crossed separately with two varieties of watermelons; Kolos (WM 1) and Kolack (WM 2) to generate hybrids (F1) that were later selfed (F2). Backcrosses (BC) were also made to the watermelon parents. The parents, FI, F2 and BC genotypes were planted in the field in a randomized complete block design and organoleptic assessment was done at harvest. The F1 produced only hybrids with sweet fruit taste, WM 1 x Egu 3 (26), Egu 1 x WM 2 (24) and Egu 3 x WM 2 (33) except Egu 1 x WM 1 that produced only genotypes with intermediate fruit taste (32). The Chi-square statistics for the F2 showed that fruit taste in ‘egusi’ melon and watermelon cross was under the control of many genes. The successful backcrosses obtained showed reduction in the proportion of with fruits bitterness viz., Egu 2 x WM 2 (bitter= 0 and sweet= 10) and Egu 3 x WM 2 (bitter= 13 and sweet= 16) indicating prospect for improving the fruit taste quality of ‘egusi’ melon through hybridization with watermelon.Downloads
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