Phenology and Yield Attributes of Inbred Lines of Flutedpumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook) Derived from Landraces in South Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Inbred lines of T. occidentalis derived from Landraces which are collected in five states of Anambra (AN), Imo (IM), Abia (AB), Enugu (EN) and Rivers (RV) of South Eastern Agro-ecology of Nigeria were established ex-situ during 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons and assessed for their desirability for use as hybridization materials. Their Phenological assessment based on vegetative, flowering, and fruiting attributes indicate that all the inbreds did not differ in number of days to 50% seed emergence but Abia inbred (AB/AB) performed better than all other inbreds. Producing the longest vine most number of branches and nodes and highest internode length and leaf number plant^-1 at 6 weeks after planting (6 WAP). The male (AB/AB) inbred also flowered earlier (10 WAP) than other inbreds while those of (AN/AN) flowered later (13 WAP). The female Anambra (AN/AN) inbreds flowered earlier (12 WAP) than other female inbreds while those of Rivers flowered last (16 WAP). The highest number of female flowers plant^-1 (150) was obtained from Anambra (AN/AN) inbreds and their fruits also matured earlier at 13 weeks after pod set (13 WAPS), while the female Abia (AB/AB) inbreds had the lowest number of flowers and fruits which also matured last (18 WAPS). Our findings show potential for genetic enhancement of fluted pumpkin of different landraces through hybridization.

Keywords: Phenology, Inbred lines, landraces, and agro-ecology.