Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2017) 6(2): 317-338 317 Original Research Article http://dx.doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.602.037 Studies on Genetic Variability in Ridge Gourd (Luffa acutangula L. (Roxb.)) Genotypes in Allahabad Agro-Climate Condition Jalam Singh Rathore 1 , J.P. Collis, 1 Gajendra Singh 1 , Kuldeep Singh Rajawat 1 and Bhanwar Lal Jat 2 * 1 Department of Horticulture, Allahabad School of Agriculture, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (Deemed-To-Be-University), Allahabad (U.P.)-211007, India 2 Department of Agriculture Biotechnology, Bhagwant University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Cucurbits vegetable crops belonging to family cucurbitaceae, which primarily comprised species consumed as food worldwide. The family consists of about 118 genera and 825 species. India is world‟s largest producer of vegetables next to China with an annual production around 162.187 (Million tonnes) from 92.05 (Million hectare) of land. (Indian Horticulture Database, 2012-2013). This quantity is much less than our requirements and serves capita-1 intake on only 135 g against the recommended requirement of 285g capita-1 day-1 for balance diet. The vegetable requirement for the country has been estimated 225 million tonnes by 2020. To achieve this target and to provide balanced diet it is necessary to boost up the production of vegetables by increasing area, use of improved technology and by developing and using high yielding varieties and hybrid varieties. Luffa acutangula is believed to have originated in India, where wild types still occur, but has now spread pan tropically to all areas with a high rainfall. It is cultivated and locally naturalized in West Africa, from Sierra Leone to Nigeria. It is cultivated from International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 2 (2017) pp. 317-338 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The investigation was undertaken at Department of Horticulture, SHIATS, Allahabad, during the year 2014. The experiment was laid out in simple Randomized Block Design with 3 replications, 12 genotypes (6 genotypes from IIVR Varanasi and 6 local cultivators) separately. Studies showed that, significant effect on the minimum days to germination (3.53 days), days to first appearance of male and female flower (34.07 and 38.30 days), node number at which first male and female flower appear (5.60 and 11.53), sex ratio (34.00), length of main vine (5.30m), minimum days to first harvesting (43.93 days), fruit length (24.27 cm), fruit weight (132.60 gm), fruit diameter (4.75 cm), fruit yield (60.17t/ha), T.S.S. (4.58 0 Brix) and vitamin C (4.59 mg/100gm) was observed maximum in treatment with T 6 RIGVAR-6. The treatment T 6 (RIGVAR-6) was found to be the best out of 12 genotypes in terms of growth, yield, quality and economic returns. The highest B:C ratio (3.86) was found for ridge gourd, in genotypes RIGVAR-6 under the agro- climatic condition of Allahabad. Keywords Ridge gourd, Genotypes, Evaluation, Growth, yield and quality. Accepted: 12 January 2017 Available Online: 10 February 2017 Article Info