Improving The Fruit Quality Through The Assembly of The New Watermelon Variety with Sweet Taste, Red Flesh Color, and High Yields

Abstract

Watermelon is one type of fruit that much preferred by the public both in this country and abroad, because of the sweet taste and fresh. Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute (ITFRI) has conducted a series of watermelon breeding to produce new varieties. The proposal is intended to register and to get signed list of varieties of watermelon Serif Saga Agrihorti from government through the Horticulture Variety Registration Assessment Team (TP2VH) and the Indonesian Center for Plant Variety Protection and Licensing Agriculture (PPVTPP). The plant material used in this experiment was the candidate selected watermelon accession namely Serif Saga Agrihorti, BT-4, BT-4 p, BT-5, BT-6 and Torino as checking varieties. Serif Saga Agrihorti is a new superior variety (VUB) candidate to be tested, while BT-4, BT-4 p, BT-5, BT-6 are  watermelon genotypes from ITFRI collection. Torino variety was already registered with No. 76/PVHP/2010 has a resemblance to the VUB candidate Serif Saga Agrihorti which has a spherical shape, green striped rind, red flesh color and has a seed. Serif Saga Agrihorti Watermelon (BT1) was resulted from self  fertilizing. The selection methods which used in this variety assembly are a positive mass selection combined with a negative mass selection. Superiority traits of the new varieties candidate of Serif Saga Agrihorti watermelon which has sweeter taste with total soluble solid from 10.3 to 11.7 ° Brix, dark red flesh color, granular flesh texture, light striped green fruit skin color. These candidate varieties can adapt well in Solok with an altitude between 50-500 meters above sea level. The releasing of this  candidate variety as a new variety of watermelon was expected to increase the farmers' income.