Genetic divergence in hermaphrodite ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula)

The present investigations were carried out on 35 genotypes collected from different locations of India and evaluated for 8 quantitative traits. A wide range of variability in shape (long, round, oblong) and colour (green, light green, dark green) of hermaphrodite ridge gourd [Luffa acutangula (Roxb.) L.] fruits exist in India. The studied genotypes were grouped in to four clusters irrespective of geographic divergence, indicating no parallelism between geographic and genetic diversity. Cluster IV was very large containing 16 genotypes, while cluster III was represented by three genotypes. The maximum inter-cluster distance was recorded between cluster II and IV, while minimum distance was between cluster I and II. Cluster IV showed superiority for fruit yield per plant which indicates the potentiality of these genotypes, providing basic material for future improvement breeding programmes of hermaphrodite ridge gourd.