Nutritive and Mineral Composition in a Collection of Cucurbita pepo L Grown in Kosova

Abstract

In Kosovo, in most cases C. pepo is grown both in maize fields and vegetable gardens as well as in other more intensive systems. Our expedition has identified different location t of Kosovo where we were collected a samples at altitudes from 545 till 748 m.a.s.l. The aim of the present investigation was carried out to study morphological diversity, protein and lipids content. Protein content (PC) was determined by Kjeldahl method. Lipids were determined by extraction using Soxhlet apparatus and diethyl ether was used as extraction solvent. Pumpkin populations show great diversity for quality traits. The greater part of variance was accounted for Protein Content (PC) and Lipid Content (LC). The estimation overall value μ in seed for PC and LC were 14.59%, and 32.99% respectively. The genetic diversity studies of the investigated of C. pepo showed significant genetic variation on chemical parameters, which could be largely due to that they were of different origins. This evaluation of traits variability can assist breeders to identify populations with desirable characteristics for inclusion in variety breeding programs.