Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis ›› 2024, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (2): 334-343.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20230244

• Horticultural Science • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Factor analysis and comprehensive evaluation of the fruit quality of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)

WANG Ying(), WANG Jian, FENG Zishan, WANG Baogen, WU Xinyi, LU Zhongfu, SUN Yuyan, DONG Wenqi, LI Guojing, WU Xiaohua*()   

  1. Institute of Vegetables, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China
  • Received:2023-02-28 Online:2024-02-25 Published:2024-03-05

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to establish a comprehensive evaluation system for assessing fruit quality in bottle gourd for the purposes of quality evaluation, selection, and breeding. Data on 28 fruit quality related traits were collected from 206 bottle gourd germplasm collections. Correlation analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and two-dimensional ordination mapping were conducted to develop a comprehensive evaluation formula for fruit quality in bottle gourd. The results indicated that the variations in the 28 fruit quality traits were different, ranging from 2.71% to 63.60%. The greatest difference was found in the free glutamate (Glu) content, while the least difference was observed in water content. The correlations among all bottle gourd quality indexes differed depending on the collection. Nine common factors were extracted from bottle gourd quality indexes with an 86.78% cumulative variance contribution rate through factor analysis. The first common factor explained the indices mainly concentrated in free amino acids, with a 38.46% cumulative variance contribution rate. Based on the results of comprehensive analysis and cluster analysis, flesh thickness, soluble solids content, hardness, Glu content, and protein content were selected as typical indices for evaluating the fruit quality of 206 bottle gourd germplasm collections. These findings provide valuable resources and a foundation for breeding high-quality bottle gourd.

Key words: bottle gourd, fruit quality, factor analysis, representative indexes, comprehensive evaluation

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