Heterosis in watermelon for earliness, growth, fruit yield and quality parameters

Hybrids in watermelon are popular due to earliness, high yield, improved quality, disease resistance and transport ability. Small and marginal farmers demand seed of promising public sector hybrids to reduce the expenditure on seed. Therefore, forty F1 hybrids developed by crossing eight lines and four testers were evaluated in Punjab state for 16 traits. Significant mid-parent heterosis (MPH) in desirable direction was recorded for all traits except titratable acidity. Significant standard heterosis (SH) over ‘Jannat’ in desirable direction was recorded for all traits except node number of first female flower, seed number per fruit, titratable acidity and lycopene. The highest SH was observed for ascorbic acid (47.5%) followed by fruit number (34.3%) and 100-seed weight (-33.3%). The maximum MPH was noted for dry matter (49.1%), succeeded by seed number (-37.5%), 100-seed weight (-35.8%), vine length (-35.3%), fruit number (33.6%), and marketable yield (31.3%). The number of hybrids exhibiting significant and desirable SH was highest for ascorbic acid (20), followed by vine length (16), 100-seed weight (15), internode length (10) and fruit number (8). The number of hybrids manifesting significant and desirable MPH was maximum for vine length (24) followed by node number of first female flower (12), internode length (10), seed number per fruit (8), total soluble solids (8) and dry matter (8). Three promising hybrids (PWM-1 × PWM-3, PWM-14 × PWM-3, and PWM-30 × PWM-63-32) exhibiting heterosis for multiple traits are recommended for multi-location testing across the state to identify superior hybrid for a particular zone or stable across diverse zones.