EVALUATION OF THE MORPHOBIOLOGICAL AND PRODUCTIVE INDICATORS OF CHAYOTE (Sechium edule L) IN THE REGION OF MYZEQE, LIBOFSHË, FIER

Prickly potato - Chayote (Sechium edule L) is an exotic plant that grows and is cultivated in Costa Rica. It has been brought to Albania since 2004 and has been studied several times in different areas, mainly in the warm zone. It is a plant that has many synonyms and uses. Sometimes it is called prickly eggplant or prickly gourd and in some places it is called Kayota. The fruit grows above the ground and the plant develops as a pergola with long shoots. The fruit is used cooked in different forms: fried, dish, and or casserole. The leaves are used to make various pies and it is very tasty, especially when cooked with milk. The fruits are planted in March by placing them in the soil and covering them with 5-8 cm. During the vegetation, measurements of biometric and productive indicators were made: Number of shoots/plant, length of shoots/plant (sum), longest shoot, shortest shoot, number of leaves/plant, leaf color, flower color, the shape of the leaf, the shape of the tuber, the color of the skin of the tuber, the color of the tuber pulp, the placement of the buds on the tuber, yield/plant (kg/plant), number of tubers/plant, average tuber weight (kg), the weight of the largest tuber (kg), the weight of the smallest tuber (kg), yield kv/ha. The fruits were chemically analyzed to determine the main chemical indicators: the content of starch and the most important chemical elements.