Diversity in bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria -(Molina) Standl.) Germplasm from peninsular India

A set of 20 diverse accessions of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.), exhibited wide range of variability for qualitative and quantitative traits. The seed oil content ranged from 18.6% (IC446598) to 28.0% (IC446592). The fatty acid composition of bottle gourd seed oil also varied. Days to 50% flowering and peduncle length had significant positive correlation with seed oil content, whereas inter nodal length had significant negative correlation. The intermodal length and number of primary branches per plant had high positive direct effect on fruit yield per plant. Based on the traits, the accessions clustered into three distinct clusters. The diversity may be exploited for crop improvement and the potential of bottle gourd as edible oil source further explored.