Early Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook. f.) Sex Identification Based on Biochemical Criteria

Abstract

The present field study was conducted to investigate the possibility of using plant physiological parameters as indices for fluted pumpkin sex identification during the vegetative growth stage of the plant – 8 weeks after planting. Thirty plants were sampled during the vegetative phase of the plant’s growth (8 weeks after planting) and analyzed for biochemical indices including protein, fat, carbohydrate, iron, moisture, dietary fibre, ash, tannin, oxalate, and trypsin inhibitor content of their leaves. The results showed that of the eleven biochemical parameters upon which prediction was based, leaf protein content was the most reliable index for early sex prediction in the crop plant, with the accuracy value of 65.52%.