ABSTRACT
Ash gourd belongs to the genus Benincasa of the Cucurbitaceae family with a single cultivated species hispida, synonym cerifera. Hispida refers to the hirsute pubescence on the foliage and immature fruit, whereas cerifera means wax bearing. Its primary basic chromosome number is x = 6. It has eight pairs of medium chromosome and four pairs of subterminal ones. The total length of chromosome complement is 57.36 µm with an average chromosome length of 2.39 µm. It has been reported that Benincasa hispida may be a stable tetraploid derived from an ancestor having a basic chromosome number x = 6. Ash gourd is known by different names in different parts of the world such as white gourd, winter melon, fallow gourd, white pumpkin, hairy melon, Chinese preserving melon, and wax gourd (Robinson and Deckers-Walters, 1997). Besides, it is also known by several other names as koosmanda (Sanskrit), pazadaba (Persian), fakwa, funggwa, mokwa, doonqua, chamkwa (Chinese), tougan (Japanese), tankoy, kundol (Filipino), and petha kaddu (Indian). The gourd was named as ash or wax gourd because of the presence of waxy cuticles that develop on mature fruits. This helps in increasing the shelf life of the fruit. High temperature favors the formation of waxy bloom. Ash gourd is an important vegetable in China, India, the Philippines, and other parts of Asia. It is also cultivated in Latin America and the Caribbean, usually by immigrants of Chinese descent. It is believed to have originated in Java and Japan. It has been cultivated in China for more than 2300 years. The diversity of cultivars in China suggested that this crop might be the indigenous to southern China (Yang and Walters, 1992). Simmond (1976) reported that ash gourd is indigenous to Asian tropics and distributed from Japan to India by foreign navigators and missionaries. It is grown throughout the plains of India, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka up to an altitude of 1500 m. It is widely cultivated in various parts of India, but the cultivation area is concentrated in and around Uttar Pradesh.
