Yield Test of Hybrid Watermelon as A Result of Reciprocal Crosses in The Lowlands Field (Lampung-Indonesia)
Anung Wahyudi (a*), Miranda Ferwita Sari (a), Irsan Rajamin (b), Mustika Arsri (b)

a) Politeknik Negeri Lampung. Jl. Soekarno Hatta No. 10, Rajabasa, Bandar Lampung 35144, Lampung, Indonesia. *anung[at]polinela.ac.id
b) PT. Habibi Digital Nusantara. Gading Regency, Jl. Gading Utama Timur no.20, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.

Abstract

The watermelon plant (Citrullus lanatus) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. Watermelon has a sweet taste and is in great demand by the people of Indonesia. One of the efforts to increase the productivity of watermelon plants is to use superior seeds that have high yields. This study aimed to test the yield of six hybrid watermelon lines resulting from reciprocal crosses compared with two commercial hybrid varieties. This research was conducted at the Seed Teaching Farm (STEFA) Politeknik Negeri Lampung. This study used a non-factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), consisting of six hybrid lines (WM21100401, WM21100803, WM21100616, WM21100608, WM21101011, and WM21100412) with check varieties (Bonita F1 and Red Dragon) which is repeated three times. Data analysis in this study used the F.test, then continued with the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at the 5% level. The results showed that the hybrid lines with the highest yield were found in the WM21100412 line with a fruit length 27,93 cm, fruit width 16,51 cm, fruit weight 4 kg, productivity 40,97 ton/ha, level of sweetness 9,66 brix, the character of the fruit is oval shape and has yellow flesh. This watermelon hybrid line has significant different with others genotype and has the potential for registration and release of a new superior watermelon variety with yellow flesh type and high productivity.

Keywords: Hybrid, New Lines, Variety, Watermelon

Topic: Plant breeding and biotechnology