Abstract

Citrullus mucosospermus (Fursa) is a plant known for its high nutritional and market values. However, its cultivation remains traditional with low yields. This study was initiated to contribute to the genetic improvement of C. mucosospermus by determining key genetic parameters. To achieve this, three segregating populations were created from three crosses of C. mucosospermus. All six generations (Pa, Pb, F1, F2, BC1Pa, and BC1Pb) of each cross were grown in the same environment in peasant areas and studied based on six fruit characteristics: number of fruits per plant (NuFr), mass of fruit per plant (MaFr), diameter of fruit per plant (DiFr), mass of dry seeds per fruit (MaDs), length of seed (LeSe), and width of seed (WiSe). The results revealed significant differences among all six generations for all studied traits in the three crosses. The traits investigated exhibited moderate to high heritability, accompanied by low genetic advance. Positive degrees of transgression were observed for NuFr, MaFr, DiFr, and MaDs, indicating relatively high frequencies of transgression for these traits. Therefore, selecting superior hybrids for these traits would likely be more effective in later generations, such as F3 or F4.

Key words: Bebu, Wlêwlê, genetic advance, heritability, selection, transgression.