Evaluation of yield and quality characteristics of new selected varieties of Cucurbita pepo convar. patissonina and Cucurbita pepo convar. giromontiina | Hodnotenie výšky úrody a znakov kvality nových vybraných odrôd druhu Cucurbita peppo convar. patissonina and Cucurbita pepo convar. giromontiina

Fruit vegetables, where pumpkin, patisson squash and zucchini belong to, are very popular and cultivated species in climatic conditions of south Slovakia region. These vegetable species are undemanding for cultivation. They offer very delicious fruits which have unsubstitutable position from aspect of health nutrition, especially in summer and early autumn time. It is not simple to orient in a wide assortment of vegetable varieties now. Thus, it is necessary to recognize the basic characteristics of offered varieties. These results and knowledge enable a selection of suitable varieties for various cultivation conditions and various uses of fruits. We evaluated newer selected varieties of zucchini and patisson squash which are offered by seeds companies in Slovak market. The highest yield of patisson squash fruits was reached by variety SUNNY DELIGHT F1 (126.38 t per ha). It is a very attractive variety which offers expressive yellow-coloured fruits of disc shape with consistent and compact pulp. The yield of pattison squash variety PATTY GREEN TINT F1 was reached at the level of 110.13 t.ha1. Green-coloured fruits of this variety have soft peel and delicious taste. The lowest yield was marked by variety PATINA (75,69 t per ha) which belongs to the classical varieties with white-coloured patisson fruits. The yield of zucchini fruits ranged from 127.64 t per ha to 155.41 t per ha. The lowest yield was marked by variety TONDO Dl PIACENZA. It is a new, very attractive zucchini variety which offers dark green fruits with round shape and it looks like a watermelon fruit. It is optimal to harvest fruits with 8 cm diameter-fruits are delicious and suitable for kitchen processing. Zucchini variety BĚTKA F1 has white cream-coloured long smooth fruits which are suitable for stuffing, baking or roasting. The highest yield was reached by variety GOLDLINE F1 which has untraditional gold-yellow colour of fruits. It is a very attractive zucchini variety from aspect of farmer because of short vegetation period (55 - 60 days to first harvest). Fruits of this variety have extraordinary flavour properties - sweet taste and higher content of beta-carotene. According to our results, we can recommend all varieties for small farmers because they have excellent flavour properties. We can also harvest small fruits with 8 - 10 cm diameter as they are very suitable for preservation. For cultivation on large areas, we expressly recommend yellow attractive varieties SUNNY DELIGHT F1 and GOLDLINE F1 because of high productivity, delicious flavour properties and attractiveness for consumers.