| dc.description.abstract | This study aimed to characterize the fruit morphology of pumpkin
(Cucurbita moschata) cultivated in Sei Bingai Village, Langkat Regency, North
Sumatra Province. The research was conducted from October to December 2025
using an exploratory–descriptive method. Sampling was carried out through
purposive sampling of harvested pumpkin fruits collected from several local
farmers’ fields. Morphological characterization was performed based on UPOV
descriptor guidelines by observing both qualitative and quantitative morphological
traits. The qualitative characters observed included fruit skin color, fruit shape,
longitudinal and transverse cross-section shapes, stem-end and blossom-end
profiles, fruit surface texture, flesh color, as well as seed color and shape.
Quantitative characters included fruit weight, fruit diameter, skin thickness, flesh
thickness, and seed size. Quantitative data were analyzed using mean values, while
genetic relationships among accessions were evaluated through cluster analysis
using the NTSys program. The results indicated a high level of morphological
diversity among pumpkin accessions, particularly in fruit shape, skin color, and
fruit size. UPGMA cluster analysis revealed three closely related accession pairs,
namely Accessions 1 and 4 with a similarity coefficient close to 0.51, Accessions 3
and 6 with a coefficient close to 0.63, while Accessions 2 and 5 exhibited the highest
similarity with a coefficient of 0.75.
Keywords: pumpkin, morphological characterization, genetic diversity. | en_US |
