Heterosis breeding in dessert watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsumura and Nakai var. lanatus] for improving earliness, yield and fruit quality
- 1Department of Vegetable Science, Punjab Agricultural University
- 2Regional Research Station, Punjab Agricultural University
Abstract
Eight round-fruited watermelon lines crossed with five testers having elliptical, broad-elliptical or oblong fruits. Non-additive gene action governed all traits except fruit equatorial diameter and ascorbic acid. Among lines, ‘PWM-1’ had best GCA for number of primary branches, fruit weight and marketable yield; ‘PWM-14’ for node number of first female flower and days taken to first fruit harvest; ‘PWM-54-19’ for rind thickness; ‘PWM-20’ for vine length, fruit number, number of seeds and 100-seed weight; ‘PWM-112’ for lycopene and ascorbic acid. Among testers, ‘PWM-3’ had the best GCA for node number of first female flower, days to first fruit harvest, number of primary branches, rind thickness, TSS, ascorbic acid and dry matter; ‘V-15’ for internode length and vine length; ‘PWM-7-10’ for fruit weight, marketable yield and 100-seed weight; ‘V-3’ for lycopene and titratable acidity. GCA and mean performance correlation was significant for only 4 traits. Desirable significant better-parent heterosis was observed for all traits except rind thickness, lycopene, TSS and ascorbic acid. Maximum BPH was recorded for vine length (-34.1%) followed by 100-seed weight (-28.9%), marketable yield (26.9%), number of primary branches (25.3%), etc. Heterotic cross-combinations were involved low × high GCA with some low × low and high × high GCA.
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BibTeX
@article{singh2026heterosis,
title = {{Heterosis breeding in dessert watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsumura and Nakai var. lanatus] for improving earliness, yield and fruit quality}},
author = {Kamalpreet Singh and Naveen Garg},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-62558-4},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62558-4},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Heterosis breeding in dessert watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsumura and Nakai var. lanatus] for improving earliness, yield and fruit quality
AU - Kamalpreet Singh
AU - Naveen Garg
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-62558-4
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62558-4
AB - Eight round-fruited watermelon lines crossed with five testers having elliptical, broad-elliptical or oblong fruits. Non-additive gene action governed all traits except fruit equatorial diameter and ascorbic acid. Among lines, ‘PWM-1’ had best GCA for number of primary branches, fruit weight and marketable yield; ‘PWM-14’ for node number of first female flower and days taken to first fruit harvest; ‘PWM-54-19’ for rind thickness; ‘PWM-20’ for vine length, fruit number, number of seeds and 100-seed weight; ‘PWM-112’ for lycopene and ascorbic acid. Among testers, ‘PWM-3’ had the best GCA for node number of first female flower, days to first fruit harvest, number of primary branches, rind thickness, TSS, ascorbic acid and dry matter; ‘V-15’ for internode length and vine length; ‘PWM-7-10’ for fruit weight, marketable yield and 100-seed weight; ‘V-3’ for lycopene and titratable acidity. GCA and mean performance correlation was significant for only 4 traits. Desirable significant better-parent heterosis was observed for all traits except rind thickness, lycopene, TSS and ascorbic acid. Maximum BPH was recorded for vine length (-34.1%) followed by 100-seed weight (-28.9%), marketable yield (26.9%), number of primary branches (25.3%), etc. Heterotic cross-combinations were involved low × high GCA with some low × low and high × high GCA.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -