Studies on genetic variability in ivy gourd [Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt.]

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the genetic variability in ivy gourd [Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt.] genotypes collected from different parts of Assam and other North Eastern states (Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Nagaland) during the summer seasons of 2013 and 2014. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications at the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat. Genetic variability in terms of PCV and GCV were high for yield per plant (27.56 and 23.87%, respectively). High heritability in broad sense combined with high genetic advance was recorded for number of fruits per plant (94.39 and 38.57%) followed by fruit weight (93.36 and 32.61%), which were indicative of preponderance of additive and additive × additive type of gene interaction. The desirable additive genes for these traits could be accumulated and fixed in the population through phenotypic selection, thereby genetically improving the ivy gourd genotypes.