Agro-morphological and Palynological studies in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) accessions from Northeast India

Fourteen cucumber accessions collected from different Northeast states of India were analysed for variations by means of agro-morphological traits and palynological characteristics. Phenotypic variations in fruit length (19.20 cm – 28.33 cm, fruit width 5.0 cm – 7.3 cm), number of locules (3 – 4/fruit), seed length (0.8 cm – 1.2 cm), seed width (0.3 cm – 0.43 cm) and weight of 100 seeds (1.0 gm – 3.4 gm/ accessions) were observed. Variations were also observed in pollen characteristics among the accessions. Size of pollen varies from 40.00 (41.33) 44.00 μm x 46.00 (47.56) 48.70 μm to 48.00 (48.30) 48.60 μm x 52.00 (52.86) 53.40 μm. Variations in P/E ratio, pore diameter and interporal distance was also observed among the accessions. Cucumber genotypes with superior agro-morphological traits were observed to have bigger pollen size, larger pore diameter and interporal distance, indicating a positive correlation between the two. Present study provides useful information which can assist in efficient utilization and improvement of cucumber germplasm.