Genotype-environment interaction and stability analysis for yield and yield attributing characters in muskmelon

Abstract

Stability analysis in muskmelon for seven quantitative traits namely, days to first female flower, node to first female flower, fruit polar diameter, fruit equatorial diameter, fruit flesh thickness, TSS and fruit weight using Eberhart and Russell and Perkins and Jinks models showed significant genotypic mean square for all the characters indicating enough variability among the 24 muskmelon genotypes. Fourteen genotypes for days to first female flower, 23 for node to first female flower, 20 for fruit polar diameter, 16 for fruit equatorial diameter, 15 for TSS and 13 for fruit weight were found stable across the environments. Two genotypes namely, PMM-97-19 and PMM-251 were found stable across the five environments for all the characters under study. On over all basis, the desirable stable genotypes for fruit weight having superior fruit quality traits were Pusa Madhuras, PMM-249, PMM-97-19 and PMM-208. However, the genotype PMM-97-19 was found most superior genotype.