Studies on Pigmentation of Fruits in Derivatives of Crosses between Cucurbita maxima Duch. ×C. moschata Poir.

Precocious fruit pigmentation was found to be recessive in Cucurbita maxima. When precocious C. maxima cultivars were crossed with C. moschata and C. equadorensis, the trait was found to be dominant. Following the introduction of precocious pigmentation into C. moschatta cv. ‘Waltham Butternut’, the character was found to be recessive. In addition, foliage yellowing, spotting and leaf variegation were associated with the character. At fruit maturity two new fruit colors were obtained; orange and green, vs the typical cream color of the cv. ‘Waltham Butternut’. It is suggested that at least two complementary genes from both parental species control orange fruit color, and a’ single gene is responsible for mature green pigmentation. Improvement of C. moschata cultivars is aimed at by assembling the beneficial effects of the various characters.