Genetic analysis of yield and yield attributing traits in bitter gourd

Gynoecious bitter gourd has the potential for increasing yield in commercial cucurbitaceous. Therefore, a generation means analysis was conducted to investigate the inheritance of yield attributing traits in crosses of gynoecious × monoecious. Progeny (F₁, F₂, and F₃) from a cross between gynoecious lines (Gy333 and Gy323) and monoecious line DRAR-1were used in the present study. The additive × dominance and dominance × dominance interaction effects were noted in most of the crosses for the entire traits. The joint scaling test showed that cross Gy333 × DRAR-1 and Gy323×DRAR-1 showed significant epistatic gene effects. χ² value was significant for all traits except days to first flowers and anthesis, plant height, internodal length, fruit/plant seeds/fruit and yield/plant showed non-significant χ² value hence the additive-dominance model. In cross Gy323 × DRAR-1, χ² value was significant for all traits except yield/plant. Both additive and dominance components were significant for most of traits. These traits showed duplicate type of epistasis for the above crosses. The development of early flowering genotypes possessing desirable fruit weight characteristics, however, will likely be complicated by inheritance of gynoecious in dominance and epistatic effects. Positive additive × additive is indicating the possibility of obtaining transgressive segregants in later generations, whereas dominance × dominance gene effects indicated a duplicate epistasis which will be undesirable for selection and genetic improvement in gynoecious bitter gourd.