Estimates of genetic parameters and correlations in melon accessions of the &ITmomordica &ITgroup

The melons of momordica group constitute an important vegetable of the Curcubitaceae family, grown in many Brazilian cities, mainly by small farmers in the Northeast and some of southern Brazil. Since there are few or no studies about this botanical group, the authors aimed to estimate genetic parameters and genetic, phenotypic and environmental correlations of the commercial character of 23 melon accessions from the momordica group, seeking information to be used in breeding programs. Data were obtained from an experiment installed in randomized block design in eight replications, performed at the greenhouse of Rural Federal University of Pernambuco, between April and July 2013. In a general way, the assessed accesses showed high genetic variability, where the estimates of heritability, coefficient of genetic variation and reason (CV g / CV) or indice b expressing values of high magnitude for the major evaluated characteristics. The genetic correlations presented similar traces and superior values when compared with their phenotypic and environmental correlations for the most of the assessed pairs, except for the pair CFr (fruit length) x MFr (average fruit mass). Positive and high magnitude correlations were obtained for the association between Epo (pulp thickness) and Tso (solids soluble content) and MFr, Tso x CMa (number of days from flowering to maturation), MFr x CMa, while the RFr (length/width ratio of the fruit) is negatively correlated with the most features, indicating that the selection should be carried out to obtain more round and heavier fruits which show higher values of pulp thickness.