Inheritance pattern of leaf and fruit traits in watermelon[Citrullus lanatus (Thunb) Mansf.]

Rare traits can significantly contribute to the development of trait-specific genotypes and may also be effectively used as morphological markers in breeding. Most of the watermelon cultivars or genotypes are having lobbed leaves but YF 5-2-7 exhibiting non-lobed leaves along with yellow fleshed round fruits. The study was conducted during 3 seasons to develop F1, F2 and their evaluation along with parental lines. The breeding line AHW/BR-22 was used as a female parent and crossed with unique yellow fleshed watermelon genotype YF 5-2-7 to produce F1 and F2 generation to study the inheritance of leaf hape, fruit shape and flesh colour. Based on the segregation pattern of progeny, it is concluded that leaf shape and fruit shape did not follow monogenic inheritance, while, monogenic control was observed in flesh colour. This study provides valuable insights into the genetic basis of leaf shape, fruit shape and flesh colour in watermelon, which can have practical applications in breeding programmes, facilitating the development of improved watermelon varieties with desirable and unique traits.