Inheritance of Some Seed Characters in Citrullus Lanatus Thunb. Mansf*

A study on the mode of inheritance of seed coat colour and seed length in watermelon was carried out at the Experiment Station of the Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. A cross between medium size (8.89 mm) and tan seed coat (IHR-120) and large size (12.05 mm) and red seed coat (IHR-123) was made. The tan seed coat colour was dominant in the F₁ generation and it segregated into 3: 1 ratio of tan to red seed coat colour indicating simple Mendelian dominance involved there. This was again confirmed by the backcross generation with the red seed coat colour parent (IHR-123) where the tan and red seed coat colour segregated into equal numbers. As regards the size of seed, the medium and large size seeds segregated into 3: 1 ratio in the F₂ generation. In the backcross generation it segregated into 1 medium to 1 large seeds indicating monogenic inheritance.