Abstract

Thirty-five genotypes of the fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) collected from seven states in Southern Nigeria were evaluated for ten agronomic characters. The results obtained showed considerable variation among the genotypes for all characters studied. Low level of environmental influence was observed in the expression of all the characters studied except number of branches per plant and internode length. High heritability estimates were accompanied by high expected genetic gain in vine length, fresh leaf weight, vine weight, number of leaves per plant and marketable leaf yield. Vine length had the highest broad sense heritability and number of branches had the least value (75.00 and 29.28%, respectively). Correlation analysis showed significant and positive association among all the ten characters. Direct selection for improvement of these traits may be carried out on these characters, as their phenotypic expression would be good indicators of their genotypic potentials.

Key words: Coefficients of variation, genetic advance, heritability, Telfairia occidentalis.