tailieunhanh - Rootstock potential of Turkish Lagenaria siceraria germplasm for watermelon: Plant growth, yield and quality

The rootstock potential of 21 bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) collected from the Mediterranean region (Turkey) was investigated for watermelon with regard to plant growth, yield, and fruit quality. | F. KARACA, H. YETİŞİR, İ. SOLMAZ, E. ÇANDIR, Ş. KURT, N. SARI, Z. GÜLER Research Article Turk J Agric For 36 (2012) 167-177 © TÜBİTAK doi: Rootstock potential of Turkish Lagenaria siceraria germplasm for watermelon: plant growth, yield and quality Fatih KARACA1, Halit YETİŞİR2,*, İlknur SOLMAZ3, Elif ÇANDIR1, Şener KURT4, Nebahat SARI3, Zehra GÜLER5 1 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay - TURKEY 2 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Erciyes University, Kayseri - TURKEY 3 Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Çukurova University, Adana - TURKEY 4 Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay - TURKEY 5 Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay - TURKEY Received: Abstract: The rootstock potential of 21 bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) collected from the Mediterranean region (Turkey) was investigated for watermelon with regard to plant growth, yield, and fruit quality. The Crimson Tide watermelon cultivar was used as a scion and 2 commercial rootstocks (L. siceraria) were also used for comparison. In greenhouse conditions, the survival rate of grafted plants and the effect of rootstocks on plant growth were determined. The grafted plants were planted under low tunnels in early spring and the effects of the rootstocks on early yield, total yield, and fruit quality were evaluated. The survival rates of the grafted plants varied from 83% to 100%. Survival rates of those with commercial rootstocks and local rootstocks were similar. Plants grafted onto 20-02, 31-09, 31-43, 35-01, and 46-03 were more vigorous than ungrafted control plants. Compared to the control plants, grafted plants had 37% to 80% higher plant dry weight. All of the grafted plants except CT/Macis produced a higher yield than the control plants. The plants grafted onto 6 of the local rootstocks