Breeding potential of Indian ridge gourd germplasm for important horticultural traits

Using Mahalanobis D² statistics method, 51 genotypes of ridge gourd were grouped into 15 divergent clusters. Cluster X was the largest comprising 14 genotypes, followed by cluster VI with 6 genotypes and cluster I with 5 genotypes. Rest of the clusters had either two or three genotypes. The pattern of distribution of genotypes from different regions into different clusters was random indicating that; there is no association between geographical distance and genetic divergence. Intra cluster distance was highest in cluster VI and lowest in cluster II. Maximum inter cluster distance (10.79) was observed between clusters XII and XIV followed by between cluster III and XIV (10.22) and between cluster IV and XIV (10.18). Cluster XIII with two genotypes ranked first for most of the yield contributing characters and appeared to be containing the most potential genotypes for hybridization programmes aimed at increasing ridge gourd yields. The important characters responsible for maximum divergence were fruit yield/ha, fruit yield/vine, number of fruits/vine and number of branches/vine. Hence during selection, considerable emphasis should be given on these characters to increase fruit yield in ridge gourd.