Vol. 9, Special Issue 9, Part N (2025)

Ninty four diverse genotypes of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) were evaluated during summer 2024 at Vegetable Research Block, College of horticulture, Bengaluru in Randomized Complete Block Design with two replications to study the relationships among 15 quantitative traits pertaining to growth, earliness and yield characters and to help breeders to determine the selection criteria for breeding programmes for fruit yield improvement. In both phenotypic and genotypic correlation analyses, fruit yield per vine showed strong positive associations with average fruit weight and number of fruits per vine, identifying them as key yield-contributing traits. Traits like sex ratio, shape index and TSS displayed important interactions, indicating the need for balanced selection. Stronger genotypic correlations suggest the predominance of genetic control over environmental influence. Path analysis revealed that average fruit weight exerted the highest positive direct effect on fruit yield per vine at both genotypic and phenotypic levels, indicating it as the most important yield-contributing trait. Number of fruits per vine also showed a strong positive direct effect, further confirming its role in yield improvement. Traits like flesh thickness and cavity diameter contributed indirectly to yield mainly through average fruit weight. These findings highlight that average fruit weight and number of fruits per vine are the most reliable traits for direct selection in muskmelon breeding aimed at yield enhancement.