Browsing by Author "Maphosa, Mcebisi"

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    Citron watermelon characterisation and trait analysis in Kalahari sands
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2025-06-13) Tembo, Lenon; Maphosa, Mcebisi
    Background: Citron watermelon, a drought-tolerant and nutrient-dense crop requiring low input, holds potential for enhancing food security under climate change conditions. However, it remains under-researched, with low productivity levels. Aim: To agro-morphologically characterise citron watermelon accessions and identify trait relationships relevant for variety development. Setting: The experiment was carried out at a Lupane State University Farm with Kalahari sands in Zimbabwe. Methods: A randomised complete block design field experiment, with three replications, was conducted over two consecutive seasons. Results: The accessions displayed wide diversity in fruit shape, skin colour and seed colour. Fruit yield ranged from 18.5 t/ha to 190.2 t/ha, exhibiting a strong positive correlation with the number of fruits per plant (R = 0.99) and individual fruit weight (R = 0.98). Path analysis confirmed that these traits exerted the highest direct effects on yield. Principal component analysis revealed that the first three components explained 89.85% of the total variation between accessions. Conclusion: The significant variation and trait correlations observed offer opportunities for effective parental selection and early genetic gains in breeding programmes. There is scope to improve yield-determining traits, such as the number of fruits per plant and individual fruit weight, forming a strong basis for initiating a breeding programme for this crop. Contribution: Promising accessions identified in this study can be utilised as parental lines for citron watermelon improvement.
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    Estimation of yield and yield-related genetic parameters in citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides)
    (Taylor & Francis, 2025-08-11) Tembo, Lenon; Maphosa, Mcebisi
    This study aims to improve citron watermelon, an underutilized African crop. Despite its climate resilience and economic importance, the estimation of yield-related genetic parameters remain unexplored. Ten high-yielding accessions were crossed in a bi-parental mating design to develop five hybrids that were evaluated together with their parents in a randomized complete block design, replicated thrice. Traits such as fruit yield, length and weight displayed the greatest potential to respond to selection owing to high heritability (61.64, 73.80% and 59.00%, respectively) and genetic advance (4585.09, 77.32 and 73.27%, respectively). Fruit weight, rind thickness and yield showed significant positive heterosis (p < .05) in hybrids 7 × 8 and 1 × 2, indicating their potential for heterotic improvement. Hybrids 1 × 2 and 3 × 4 were the best cross combinations for elevated Vitamin C levels and rind thickness for both forms of heterosis. Gene number estimates revealed a range from minor to oligogenic control, with fruit weight controlled by 5.81 genes using Wright’s estimator. Total soluble solutes had the lowest number of genes in all hybrid combinations coupled with a low genetic advance of 0.44, displaying a low response to selection using this population. This study highlights several traits that have the potential to improve citron watermelon productivity.