HYBRIDIZATION OF SOME PUMPKIN LINES IN RELATION TO OIL CONTENT AND SEED YIELD

Abstract

This study was carried out during the summer seasons of 2012 and 2013 at the Experimental Farm of El-Kasaseen Research Station, Ismailia Governorate, Egypt. Five inbred lines of pumpkin, viz., Styriaca, Large Blue Hubbard, Red Kuri, Indian line and A15 were used to produce some local F1 hybrids of pumpkin characterized with high fruit, seed yielding and high seed oil content through a 5 × 5 half diallel. Field evaluation of the parents and their ten F1’s hybrids was conducted during the summer season of 2013 in a randomized complete block design with three replications. A random sample of three plants of each genotype was collected for recording the observations on vine length, leaf area, number of nodes to the first female flower and number of days to the first female flower. The ripe fruits of these plants were collected to record the observations on flesh thickness, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, total yield per plant, number of seeds per fruit, weight of seeds per fruit, weight of 100 seeds, seed yield per plant and feddan, seed oil concentration and seed oil yield per plant. General performance, heterosis percentages, potence ratio, combining ability and correlation coefficients were studied for all studied traits.