Table 2.

Total root length (RL, cm), root surface area (RSA, cm²), root length ratio (RLR, m g⁻¹), root average diameter (AvgD, mm), root volume (RV, cm³), root tissue density (RTD, mg⁻¹ cm⁻³), and specific root length (SRL, cm g⁻¹) of self-grafted Cucurbita maxima × Cucurbita moschata (CC), and Lagenaria siceraria (Ls) and of their heterografts with melon (M) and watermelon (Wm) at day 60 after grafting (DAG 60).

Graft combination (Scion/Rootstock)	RL (cm)	RSA (cm2)	RLR (m g−1)	AvgD (mm)	RV (cm3)	RTD (mg−1 cm−3)	SRL (cm g−1)
CC, self-grafted	4,790 ± 139 a	1,032 ± 29 a	12.97 ± 0.94 b	0.68 ± 0.014 b	17.78 ± 0.74 b	16.54 ± 0.49 b	166.42 ± 9.19 a
M/CC	4,994 ± 349 a	1,084 ± 64 a	15.27 ± 0.71 a	0.76 ± 0.064 ab	18.68 ± 1.04 b	15.70 ± 0.46 b	170.36 ± 8.34 a
Wm/CC	4,878 ± 201 a	1,066 ± 51 a	15.32 ± 0.54 a	0.69 ± 0.018 b	18.83 ± 1.25 b	16.41 ± 0.56 b	163.29 ± 6.96 a
Ls, self-grafted	4,986 ± 573 a	1,162 ± 96 a	14.26 ± 1.43 a	0.82 ± 0.052 a	21.85 ± 1.43 a	25.36 ± 0.46 b	90.08 ± 6.61 b
M/Ls	707 ± 42 b	78 ± 24 b	4.64 ± 0.49 c	0.48 ± 0.076 c	1.07 ± 0.34 c	64.42 ± 14.06 a	178.71 ± 8.29 a
Wm/Ls	4,435 ± 252 a	976 ± 38 a	16.00 ± 0.89 a	0.77 ± 0.063 ab	17.26 ± 0.71 b	23.86 ± 0.42 b	108.79 ± 6.44 b
Scion (Sc)	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.035	<0.001	0.001	<0.001
Rootstock (Rst)	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	0.619	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001
Sc × Rst interactions	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001

Different letters indicate significant differences within parameters (Tukey test, p < 0.05; mean ± SE); significant p-values of a two-way ANOVA are indicated in bold.