Correlation and path analysis studies in parthenocarpic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is the most important member of cucurbitaceae family due to its economic importance. It helps to cure kidney infection, jaundice, stomach problems and indigestion. It is believed to be originated in India and the wild relative Cucumis sativus var. hardwickii is the progenitor of the cultivated cucumber (Choudhary et al. 2015; Sharma 2017). It is most suitable vegetable for protected conditions due to year round production and higher demand in market. Due to its origin in India, it has accumulated most of the genetic variability which helps to improve various characters through selection. Germplasm purity is difficult to maintain due to higher cross pollination in cucumber. It depicts wide range of variability with no uniformity in characters like fruit size, shape, color and yield among existing germplasm (Sharma et al. 2017; Kaur and Sharma 2022). Parthenocarpic genotypes are widely grown under protected conditions which bear female flowers in every node and develop seedless fruits