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AVRDC's Vegetable Breeding and Seed System (vBSS) Program tests pumpkin lines in Madagascar

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Tainan, Taiwan
July 10, 2009

The perfect pumpkin

Source:
AVRDC - The World Vegetable Center - Newsletter
Dr. Martin Yeboah, Vegetable Breeder and Alice Rahantanirina, Research Assistant, both vBSS Madagascar.

Vegetable Breeding and Seed System (vBSS) Madagascar put a number of pumpkin lines to the test. The purpose: Identify a line that performs well under the local conditions and also pleases the taste buds of local consumers.
 

Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima / moschata) is an important crop in Madagascar and its spoke countries. It is
grown for the leaves, fruits, flowers, and seeds. The leaves are parboiled and eaten; it is also used in many
traditional dishes during festive occasions. Reports from a survey conducted by the Vegetable Breeding and Seed System (vBSS) Program in sub-Saharan Africa indicated pumpkin is among the most common indigenous
vegetables in Madagascar.

The vBSS Program in Madagascar focuses on the global aim of enhancing nutritional well-being as well as
reducing poverty through vegetable production in Africa. Thirty-one pumpkin landraces grown by smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia were evaluated to collect information about their genetic values.

The objectives of the pumpkin breeding program is to develop tropical varieties with compact plant habit and uniform fruit size that are disease resistant and have desirable fruit and leaf qualities. Involving farmers and vendors is critical in the selection of desirable traits such flavor and taste, which cannot be assessed easily in the laboratory. An organoleptic evaluation of pumpkin was organized by vBSS Madagascar recently for leaves and fruits at FOFIFA research station in Aloatra Mangoro Region of Madagascar. Eighty panelists comprising farmers, vendors, scientists, etc. were invited to evaluate 31 samples of cooked pumpkin leaves and fruits, including two local checks.

The preferred lines of pumpkin for leaf and fruit flavor and taste were two AVRDC varieties from Taiwan (08WVC-50 and 08WVC-54), which were rated better than the two local checks.

However, Local 2 (a check) was valued for good fruit shape and taste and also IP2, an accession from RCA in Tanzanian, did remarkably well in both leaf and fruit flavor and taste. The lines that did better than the checks will be promoted through seed companies to enhance farmers’ adoption and also will be used as parents in our crosses.

 

 

 

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