The Phenotype Characters Stability of Hybrid Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai) ♀ ‘Maduri’ and ♂ ‘Putri Delima’

Abstract

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai) is one of the horticultural crops members of Cucurbitaceae family, which is known to have high economic value and public interest. Since the entry into Indonesia, the application of watermelon plant breeding has grown to produce new superior varieties, hence not only able to meet market demand, but also to have implications for the progress of the agribusiness sector and national food security. Watermelon ♀ ‘Maduri’ with ♂ ‘Putri Delima’ cultivar hybrid produce an oblong-shaped fruit, has a dark green skin tone with dark green streaks, orange flesh fruit, and sweet taste. However, to be certified and become a cultivar that can be cultivated extensively, the new varieties need to have an adaptive and stable character. This study aims to determine the phenotype character and stability of watermelon ♀ ‘Maduri’ with ♂ ‘Putri Delima’ cultivar hybrid which is cultivated in Jamusan Village, Prambanan Sub-district, Sleman, D.I.Yogyakarta fields. Furthermore, 1 randomly collected watermelon samples were taken. Then, the qualitative and quantitative characters of samples were observed. The quantitative data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2016 with ANOVA single factor test at 1% and 5% level. The result of ANOVA test at 5% significance level shows F value at 0,00055 and Fcrit value at 4,259677273, while at the l% significance level, F value obtained at 0,00055 and the Fcrit value obtained at 7,822871. F value is smaller than Fcrit value at 5% and 1% significance level so there is no significance difference. Thus, the phenotype character of F2 watermelon is deemed stable.