Table 5.
Comparison of the staminate flower traits in the induced tetraploid with diploid pointed gourd plants.
| Ploidy Levels z | Stalk Length (mm) | Stalk Diameter (mm) | Anther Length (mm) |
Anther Diameter (mm) |
No. of Anthers | Petal Length (mm) |
Petal Diameter (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2x | 17.5 ± 0.9 b y | 3.6 ± 0.6 b | 3.1 ± 0.1 b | 5.1 ± 0.2 b | 3.0 ± 0.0 ns | 16.1 ± 0.6 b | 5.6 ± 0.1 b |
| 4x | 45.8 ± 1.2 a | 6.0 ± 0.9 a | 4.5 ± 0.2 a | 9.4 ± 0.3 a | 3.0 ± 0.0 | 24.5 ± 0.5 a | 14.1 ± 0.3 a |
z Ploidy levels are denoted as 2x = diploid and 4x = tetraploid. Five staminate (male) flowers were evaluated for each replication; a total of 15 flowers were used for three replications in three plants of each diploid and tetraploid plant. y Values are the means ± standard error; the column means under each parameter with the same letter (s) are not significantly different at P < 0.05, as determined by a t-test using the R software.