Combining Ability Analysis in Pumpkin [Cucurbita moschata Duch. Ex Poir.] for Earliness and Yield Related Traits

Author: Akshita Bisht, S.K. Maurya, Lalit Bhatt, Dhirendra Singh and Birendra Prasad

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Abstract

Combining ability studies are more reliable because they clarify the nature and extent of different types of gene action involved in the expression of quantitative traits, and they offer valuable information for choosing parents based on how well the inbreds perform. A half diallel mating design was used to hybridize eight parental lines of pumpkin, producing 28 F1 hybrids (excluding reciprocals). The generated F1 hybrids, parental lines and commercial check (Narendra Agrim) were evaluated in the summer of 2023 at Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, to investigate the combining ability for earliness, yield and yield attributed traits using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The ratio of genetic variance was less than unity, indicating that non-additive gene action predominated in all traits. The analysis revealed that none of the parents was found good general combiners for all the traits consistently, however for majority of the traits studied, PPU-2, PPU-5 and PPU-7 were identified as good general combiners. Also, the F1 hybrids namely PPU-2 × PPU-5, PPU-5 × PPU-7, PPU-2 × PPU-6 and PPU-3 × PPU-6 were found to be the best cross combinations for the majority of the traits examined. It may be feasible to increase fruit yield and earliness even further through hybridization and selection in transgressive segregants

Keywords

Combining ability, gene action, half diallel, pumpkin, fruit yield

Conclusion

Following critical testing, the hybrids PPU-2 × PPU-5, PPU-5 × PPU-7, PPU-2 × PPU-6, and PPU-3 × PPU-6 could be effectively utilized at the commercial level. Furthermore, these heterotic hybrids' superior segregates would probably produce desirable progenies in the next generation. Based on the aforementioned results, it can be inferred that heterosis breeding would enhance the characteristics of early maturity and yield in pumpkins. The inclusion of at least one good combining parent in the production of superior hybrids is indicated by the SCA effect of these three crosses. On the other hand, a previous fourth cross featured parents who were not very good at combining. This implies that the GCA effects of the parental lines involved are not always a prerequisite for any cross combination to have a high SCA effect. According to Patel and Desai (2008); Purohit et al. (2007), the superiority of SCA effects may be caused by complementary types of gene action or by non-allelic interactions of fixable and non-fixable genetic variance

References

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How to cite this article

Akshita Bisht, S.K. Maurya, Lalit Bhatt, Dhirendra Singh and Birendra Prasad (2024). Combining Ability Analysis in Pumpkin [Cucurbita moschata Duch. Ex Poir.] for Earliness and Yield Related Traits. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(7): 135-140