Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

Heterosis for yield and yield-attributing traits in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb)

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.12242
Submitted
13 October 2025
Published
10-12-2025

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the performance and heterotic potential of 21 ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula L. Roxb.) hybrids for critical growth, flowering and yield-related traits. A comprehensive analysis revealed significant variability across all traits, indicating a broad genetic base suitable for effective selection and hybrid development. Among the parental lines, IC-344512 and Arka Prasan were superior for vine length, while IC-344652 and Kerala Local-3 were identified as sources for earliness. The hybrid Kerala Local-3 × Arka Sujat exhibited outstanding overall performance, recording the longest vine (5.54 m), the highest number of branches (7.84), early maturity (44.46 days to harvest) and a maximum yield of 6.96 kg/vine (36.18 t/ha). Furthermore, heterosis analysis revealed its significant superiority over commercial checks. The cross Bangalore Local-1 × Arka Prasan also emerged as a promising hybrid, notable for its early flowering and high fruit weight, making it ideal for short-duration cultivation. The expression of both positive and negative heterosis confirmed the roles of additive and non-additive gene actions. For instance, Bangalore Local-1 × Arka Prasan displayed highly desirable negative heterosis for earliness, while Kerala Local-3 × Arka Sujat showed remarkable mid-parent heterosis for yield per vine (133.30 %). Overall, this investigation successfully identified Kerala Local-3 × Arka Sujat and Bangalore Local-1 × Arka Prasan as elite hybrids that combine high yield potential with other desirable agronomic traits, thus validating heterosis breeding as a powerful strategy to enhance productivity in ridge gourd.

References

  1. 1. Muthaiah K, Gasti VD, Sanganamoni M, Kattula N. Heterosis studies for earliness and yield related traits in ridge gourd Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2017;6(6):2656–61. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.606.316
  2. 2. Seshadri VS, Parthasarathy VA. Cucurbits. In: Bose TK, Kabir J, Maity TK, Parthasarathy VA, Som MG, editors. Vegetable Crops. Calcutta: NayaPrakash; 2002. p. 493–648.
  3. 3. Haldar UC, Saha SK, Beavis RC, Sinha NK. Trypsin inhibitors from ridged gourd (Luffa acutangula Linn.) seeds: purification, properties and amino acid sequences. J Protein Chem. 1996;15(2):177–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01887398
  4. 4. Chakravarthy ML. Monograph of Indian Cucurbitaceae (Taxonomy and distribution). Records of the Botanical Distribution of India. 1959;17:6–7.
  5. 5. Robinson RW, Decker-Walters DS. Cucurbits. Wallingford: CAB International; 1997. p. 226.
  6. 6. Hou XM, Chen MH, Xie JM, Ye XM, Zhno GX, Yang FCQ, et al. Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic studies of Luffaculin-1, a ribosome inactivation protein from the seeds of Luffa acutangula. Chin J Struct Chem. 2006;25:1035–8.
  7. 7. Yumkhaibam T, Luthra S, Jamoh O, Alice KA, Singh R. Production technology of cucurbitaceous crops. Delhi: P.K. Publisher and Distributor; 2024. p. 190.
  8. 8. Choudhary B, Thakur MR. Inheritance of sex forms in Luffa. Indian J Genet Plant Breed. 1965;25(2):188–97.
  9. 9. Doijode SD. Storage of horticultural crops. New Delhi: CBS Publishers and Distributors; 2002. p. 296–7.
  10. 10. Baranwal VK, Mikkilineni V, Zehr UB, Tyagi AK, Kapoor S. Heterosis: emerging ideas about hybrid vigour. J Exp Bot. 2012;63(18):6309–14. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ers291
  11. 11. Srikanth D, Ramana CV, Rekha GK, Babu DR, Umakrishna K, Naidu LN. Studies on heterosis for fruit yield and quality attributing characters in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2020;9(4):1961–7. https://doi.org/10.37322/GreenFarming/11.1.2020.1-8
  12. 12. Chandan BM, Lakshmana D, Devaraju BN, Babu H, Ganapathi M. Diallel studies for growth and earliness in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.). J Farm Sci. 2018;31(5):599–601.
  13. 13. Venugopala Reddy M, Patil MG, Kurubar AR, Patil S, Diwan JR, Mallesh SB. Heterosis studies for growth and yield parameters in sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem.). Int J Chem Stud. 2019;7(1):2007–13.
  14. 14. Muthaiah K, Gasti VD, Mallesh S, Nagaraju K. Heterosis studies for earliness and yield related traits in ridge gourd Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2017;6(6):2656–61. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.606.316
  15. 15. Kumar JS, Pandit MK. Heterosis studies for earliness and yield related traits in sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica (Roem.) L.). Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2019;8(9):169–77. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.809.022
  16. 16. Rabou AM, El-Magawry NA. Heterosis, potency ratio and correlations of flowering, vegetative and fruit characters in Egyptian muskmelon (Cucumis melo var. melon L.). Plant Arch. 2020;20(2):9277–85.
  17. 17. Nagadevi Sri A, Ravindra Babu M, Aparna D, Parat Para Rao M, Umakrishna K. Studies on heterosis in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.). J Pharm Innov. 2022;11(8):1305–11.
  18. 18. Hossain AM, Harunur Rashid M, Nazim Uddin M, Rabiul Islam M, Asaduzzaman M. Heterosis studies in bitter gourd. Int J Veg Sci. 2016;22(5):442–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/19315260.2015.1072613
  19. 19. Chittora A, Kaushik RA, Ameta KD, Dubey RB, Mahawer LN, Dhakar R. Heterosis in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula L. Roxb.) for fruit yield and quality traits. Electron J Plant Breed. 2018;9(4):1428–35. https://doi.org/10.5958/0975-928X.2018.00177.1
  20. 20. Srikanth D, Ramana CV, Rekha GK, Babu DR, Umakrishna K, Naidu LN. Studies on heterosis for fruit yield and quality attributing characters in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.). J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2020;9(4):1961–7. https://doi.org/10.37322/GreenFarming/11.1.2020.1-8
  21. 21. Narasannavar A, Gasti VD, Shantappa T, Mulge R, Allolli TB, Thammaiah N. Heterosis studies in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.). Karnataka J Agric Sci. 2014;27(1):47–51.
  22. 22. Singh P, Singh AK, Mishra D, Kumar R. Genetic magnitude of heterosis for yield and quality traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2020;9(3):2472–8. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.903.283
  23. 23. Sharma D, Soni AK. Study of heterosis for yield attributes in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula L. Roxb.) in the semiarid region of Rajasthan, India. Plant Arch. 2025;25(1):1343–7. https://doi.org/10.51470/PLANTARCHIVES.2025.v25.no.1.081
  24. 24. Acharya SK, Kaushik RA, Ameta KD, Dubey RB, Upadhyay B. Heterosis and combining ability in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Int J Bioassays. 2019;8(1):5692–711.
  25. 25. Nandhini D, Ananthan M, Krishnamoorthy V, Anand G. Studies on heterosis in ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.). Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2018;7(5):3126–31. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.705.365
  26. 26. Ene CO, Ogbonna PE, Agbo CU, Chukwudi UP. Heterosis and combining ability in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Inf Process Agric. 2019;6:150–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2018.07.008
  27. 27. Rabou AA. Heterosis and combining ability in cucumber under salt conditions. Plant Arch. 2020;20(2):9643–50.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.