Scientists of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) have developed a new high-yielding hybrid sweet pumpkin that suits the soil and climate of the south and can be grown all year. The work took five years at BARI's Regional Horticulture Research Station at Lebukhali in Patuakhali, and the variety has been proposed to the agriculture ministry for approval as 'BARI Hybrid Sweet Pumpkin 4'.
The problem was the thin flesh and large seed cavity of ordinary sweet pumpkins. Scientific officer Nasira Akter said that when work began in 2020 the aim was a variety that sets more fruit while each pumpkin stays relatively small. In the new hybrid the seed cavity is small and the flesh markedly thicker and sweeter.
The breeders crossed six lines in a half-diallel design, making 15 crosses, 14 of which produced seed. Sown the following year, the crosses were screened in the field for fruit number, sweetness and size, and the lines 'B cross E' and 'B cross D' were selected. Compared with the commercial variety 'Sweety', the new line yielded much more in the field. After three years of successful regional trials across the country, 'B cross E' was put forward for approval.
With a family's needs in mind, each pumpkin averages about 4.5 kg, a size the researchers expect to be popular with buyers.
Agricultural scientists say the variety could make a big difference once released, especially in summer when vegetables are scarce in the markets and farmers can earn more. Seed production on trellises has already begun at the station so that seed can reach farmers quickly once the variety is approved.
Reporting: agriculture desk, Dinajpur TV
Photo: BotBln / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Dinajpur TV
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