Clustering Analysis on the Agronomic Characters of 18 New Combinations of Luffa and the Identification of Browning Degree

The fine new strains of luffa were screened, in order to cultivate the new varieties of luffa. The main agronomic characters of 18 new combinations of luffa were analyzed by clustering, and the browning grade of the new combination was analyzed by using the grading standard of browning degree based on the total phenols, and then the nutritional components were analyzed. The results showed that the first female flower nodes of the 18 combinations of luffa were 8.0-11.5 nodes, with early maturity, strong growth potential, thick surface, fine tumor and light green peel. And the combinations of C2, C3, C4 and C9 were short cylindrical, with the fruit length of 21.8-35.4 cm, fruit diameter of 4.5-7.2 cm, and fruit weight of 500-550 g. The yield of C1, C2, C3, C5, C7 and C11 respectively increased by 13.03%, 11.56%, 11.58%, 20.61%, 17.76% and 22.08%, compared with the control group Nongfu 801. The browning degree of the 18 new combinations of luffa was 2.6-8.0, and the nutritional components were similar to that of the control group Nongfu 801. The combination of C2, C3, C4 and C9 had low browning degree, good quality, firm texture, strong stress resistance and good disease resistance. The four new combinations showed good comprehensive characters, and the agronomic characters were in line with the breeding objective, namely C2, C3, C4 and C9, which could be further demonstrated and popularized.