Evaluation of the D19 pumpkin genotype (Cucurbita maxima L.), under the conditions of cultivation on the sandy soils of the southwest of Oltenia

The need for breeding research to obtain new cultivars of baking pumpkin results from the fact that in the Official Catalog of Cultivated Plant Cultivars in Romania, edition 2021, there are only 4 cultivars: 'Alb mare', 'Dorin', 'Baron' and 'Tudor'. As a result, at Dabuleni Research-Development Station for Plant Culture on Sands (RDSPCS), in the period 2020-2022, the 'D19' baking pumpkin genotype was studied as part of the creative breeding process. The results obtained showed that both the weight of the fruit and the thickness of the fruit flesh (determining characters for the agronomic value of a cultivar) recorded constant values from year to year, which constitute important arguments in support of the enrolment of the 'D19' genotype at State Institute for Cultivars Testing and Registration for testing in order to homologation. 'D19' pumpkin genotype also showed good stability for the characters fruit height, fruit diameter, seed cavity diameter and shape index. The statistical analysis of the characters analyzed during the 3 years of the study highlighted the fact that the 'D19' pumpkin genotype behaved well in the pedoclimatic conditions of Dabuleni and steps can be taken to test and approve it as a crop plant cultivar in Romania