Abstract:
Through the identification and evaluation of agronomic traits of Trichosanthes anguiua L. resources, the potential suitable resources for cultivating Trichosanthes anguiua L. in Guangxi were screened, and the materials for snake melon breeding were provided. A total of 12 Trichosanthes anguiua L. resources collected from various parts of Guangxi were selected for product comparison, identification and screening tests, and the agronomic traits such as melon longitudinal diameter, melon transverse diameter, leaf longitudinal diameter, leaf transverse diameter, petiole length, plant internode length, melon flesh thickness, single melon quality, number of single melon seeds, and seed weight per 100 seeds were comprehensively evaluated by principal component analysis and cluster analysis. The correlation results showed that the quality of a single melon was positively correlated with the longitudinal diameter and petiole length of melon, and negatively correlated with the number of seeds of a single melon. It indicated that the wider the leaf, the lighter the melon, the heavier the melon, the longer the melon, the lighter the melon and the shorter the melon, and the shorter the melon and the thicker the flesh. The internode length of plants was positively correlated with petiole length. The yield of a single plant was significantly positively correlated with petiole length and internode length. It indicated that the longer the plant internode, the longer the petiole, the lower the yield, the more vigorous the physiological growth, and the lower the yield of a single plant. The results of principal component analysis showed that the contribution rates of the first, second, third and fourth principal components were 40.107%, 29.504%, 14.471% and 9.330%, respectively, and the cumulative contribution rate reached 93.412%. The overall score ranked among the top 3 GC261437, GC450101, and GC451030, with scores of 60.49, 58.36, and 52.67. The results of agronomic trait clustering analysis showed that 12 Trichosanthes anguiua L. resources could be divided into four major groups at Euclidean 5, including 3 parts, 2 parts, 4 parts and 3 parts of Trichosanthes anguiua L. resources, the first group performed well in terms of yield and appearance, the second group had vigorous leaf growth, the third group had strong vegetative growth ability, and the fourth group had excellent performance in terms of melon length and single melon quality. The comprehensive traits of GC261437, GC450101 and GC451030 and other resources have excellent performance and could be used as breeding materials for Trichosanthes anguiua L..