Physio-Morphological Characterization of Interspecific Hybridization-Derived Hull-Less Seeded Lines for Fruit and Seed Traits in Pumpkin

Hull-less seed trait is readily available in Cucurbita pepo, but to enhance its yield in diverse climatic conditions transfer of this trait in another related species, viz. C. moschata, is highly desirable. Consequently, a set of total 33 hull-less seeded genotypes including 31 derived from interspecific hybridization between C. pepo (hull-less) and C. moschata (hulled), and two C. pepo genotypes were evaluated for various fruit and seed traits. Analysis of variance revealed significant variation among the genotypes for fruit (fruit weight, polar and equatorial diameter) and seed (seed length, width, thickness, number of seeds, and 100-seed weight) traits. An interspecific hybridization-derived genotype, viz. HL3643-6, was comparable to check C. pepo genotypes for most of the traits. All studied traits exhibited high heritability and genetic advance, with a significant positive correlation confirming their interrelationship. Principal component analysis indicated that the first two components contributed to 82.66% of the cumulative variance, with all eight traits contributing to PC1 and seed thickness along with hundred-seed weight being the major contributors to PC2. Overall, the investigation highlighted substantial variation in the interspecific derived lines and their potential for exploitation in improving the hull-less seed trait.