Vol. 9, Special Issue 11, Part C (2025)

The present investigation was carried out at the All India Coordinated Project on Vegetable Crops, Department of Horticulture, MPKV, Rahuri, to evaluate the graft compatibility of muskmelon varieties on different cucurbitaceous rootstocks. Three commercial muskmelon hybrids (S₁, S₂, and S₃) were used as scions and grafted onto pumpkin (Arka Chandan, Arka Suryamukhi), bottle gourd (Arka Bahar, Samrat), and sponge gourd (Phule Komal, Phule Prajakta) rootstocks for yield and quality parameters. The hybrid S₁ grafted on Arka Suryamukhi (R₂S₁) recorded the highest number of fruits per vine 5.23 during kharif and 7.57 during summer. The highest fruit weight was observed in R₁S₂ with 1385.18 g and 1567.21 g during kharif and summer, respectively. Among all treatments, R₆S₁ recorded the maximum yield during kharif (6.20 kg/vine, 61.97 kg/plot, and 619.73 q/ha), while R₅S₁ showed the highest yield in summer (11.15 kg/vine, 111.54 kg/plot, and 1115.37 q/ha). The longest fruits were produced by R5S3 (13.05 cm in kharif and 14.00 cm in summer), while the maximum fruit diameter was recorded in R₅S₁ (13.98 cm and 15.04 cm in kharif and summer, respectively). No differences were observed in flesh color, fruit shape, or external color between grafted and non-grafted plants.