Morphological characterization of Hungarian and Turkish watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. et Nakai) genetic resources

Thirty-nine Hungarian accessions either collected from different regions of Hungary or obtained from gene banks and 11 Turkish accessions representing particular regions of Turkey were evaluated and compared for morphological characteristics. Qualitative characters were obtained according to the modified UPOV descriptor list for 58 characters. Sixteen quantitative characters (hypocotyl length, cotyledon width and length, length of main stem, number of nodes, length and width of leaf, length of petiole, length and width of the ovary, fruit weight, size of pistil scar, diameter and length of fruit, thickness of outer layer of pericarp, total soluble solids) were also measured. Results of both qualitative and quantitative measurements indicated that Hungarian and Turkish germplasm resources present a wide range of diversity for morphological traits. Accessions of the two countries show many similarities, therefore cannot be separated clearly. Considering the historical background, the two countries might have varieties with similar phenotypes and genetically common backgrounds.