Seed Performance of Selected Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.)

Aims: Bottle gourd is a useful crop to include in climate change adaption strategies for agronomy. However, diversity in plant and seed forms makes it difficult to predict performance under field management. There is a dearth of knowledge on the relationship between seed morphology and seed performance, namely, germination and early establishment of seedlings. This led to a need to evaluate seed morphology of different bottle gourd landraces and its effect on seed quality as defined by germination and vigour.

Methodology: Six mature fruits of different bottle gourd landraces were collected from subsistence farmers and seeds from each fruit were morphologically characterized. Standard germination test, root: shoot ratio, seedling fresh mass, seedling dry mass, germination velocity index (GVI) and electrical conductivity were used to establish seed quality and vigour.

Results: Although all traits were significantly different, most of them were not good indicators of seed quality. Seed coat thickness isolated varieties by provenance and was inversely proportional to root: shoot ratio as a measure of seedling establishment.

Conclusion: It is concluded that Lagenaria siceraria seed morphology could be a useful trait for selection of planting material in the context of seed germination as a trait