Evaluation of Ridge Gourd (Luffa acutangula Roxb) Hybrids during Summer Season for Growth, Yield and Quality Traits

The study was conducted at Department of Horticulture, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai. The hybridization programme was carried out during Kharif 2017 and 24 hybrids were evolved through Line x Tester mating design. Six inbreed lines (L) were used as female parents viz. L₁was PKM-1(High yield), L₂wasCO-1 (High yield), L₃was Virdhunagar Local (Earliness), L₄was Seranmadevi local (More number of fruits/plant), L₅ was Arka Sujath (High yield), L₆was Arka Sumeet (High yield) and four inbreds as male parents were tester (T), T₁ was Periyakottai local ( High length of fruits), T₂ was Alathur local (Fruit diameter), T₃ was Kannapatti Local (Node to first female flower appear), T₄,was Srirampuram Local (More Female: Male ratio). The twenty four hybrids were evaluated during 2018 summer season to identify superior hybrids suitable commercial cultivation during summer season. The performance of parents and hybrids showed that the parents T₁ (1.02kg/vine) and T₂ (1.01kg/ vine) were high yielding. Among the twenty four crosses, three cross combinations viz., L₃ x T₂ (1.35kg/vine), L₃ x T₁ (0.96kg/vine), L₄ x T₁ (0.93kg/vine) recorded highest yield per vine. The high fruit weight was recorded in L₃ x T₁ (315g), L₄xT₁ (270g), L₄xT₄ (250g). The highest number of fruits per vine was recorded in L₃xT₂ (4.27), L₃xT₁ (4.25) and L₃xT₃ (4.05). The yield per hectare was high in L₃xT₁ (5.38t), L₃xT₂ (3.82t) and L₄xT₁ (3.74t). The high total soluble solids was observed in L₆xT₂ (6.00Brix) and L₁ xT₃ (5.00Brix) hybrids. The highest crude fibre content was estimated in L₄xT₄ (0.59mg/100g), L₃xT₂ (0.58mg/100g) and L₄xT₃ (0.57mg) hybrids.