Morphological characterization of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) lines in different breeding generations

In this study, 24 hulles lines at S3 stage and 9 shelled lines at S2 stage seed pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) were evaluated according to the 50 criteria of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and seeds were produced by selfing additionally, 15 morphological and agronomic characteristics (plant, fruit and seed) of the lines were determined. As a result of cluster analysis with all morphological and agronomic characteristics, four separate groups were defined. In group 4, there was only the 30 numbered shelled pumpkin line with warts on the fruit surface and the largest fruit diameter, in group 3 the lines with the highest seed diameter, length, thickness, and thousand grain weight and with a wide elliptical seed shape were included. In group 2, there were 8 and 12 unshelled lines that did not have grooves on the fruit surface. In group 1, seed yield per fruit, total fruit weight, seed yield per plant and number of fruits were high, fruits were long, spots were big and grooves were deep. In terms of seed yield per plant, seed yield per fruit, and weight per thousand grains, unshelled lines numbered 8, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, and 20 among the unshelled lines were prominent, while lines numbered 29 and 33 among the shelled lines were prominent. These lines, whose plant and fruit characteristics have been defined and determined as promising, can be used directly in cultivation, and the genetic variation determined because of the study will also contribute to the development of a rich gene pool to be used in future breeding studies.