Abstract
Cucurbita pepo var. styriaca is known as a medicinal crop among other cucurbits. The benefits of cucurbits fruits are very important in terms of human health, purification of blood, removal of constipation, digestion and supplying energy. The mutant styrian oil-pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. convar. Pepo var. styriaca Greb.) exposes a complete lack of lignification of the seed testa. For this reason, this kind of naked pumpkin seed is more consumable as snack than other seeds. The vegetative growth of plants is crucial for fruit production. Nitrogen is the most imperative element for the proper vegetative growth and development of plants which significantly increases and enhances yield and its quality by playing a vital role in the biochemical and physiological functions of plants.
 Field studies were conducted to study the effect of nitrogen nutrition on certain physiological parameters and their differences between the styrian oil pumpkin hybrid and cultivar (Gleisdorfi Classic cultivar and GL Rustical hybrid). The small block experiment was carried out based on a factorial experiment with a completely randomised block design and four replications in the Research Institute of Nyíregyháza during the summer period of 2017 and 2018. Three different concentrations of nitrogen fertiliser was applied at sowing. Photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll-a, -b and carotenoids) were analysed as one of the basic factor of efficient photosynthesis. The yields of two genotypes were also measured in all treatments as seed-weight. The contents of photosynthetic pigments were higher in the oil-pumpkin hybrid, mainly the carotenoids in 2018. The vegetation period of 2018 was drier than in 2017, the hybrid oil-pupmkin was more efficient in stress tolerance than the cultivar with higher carotenoids pool. The obtained yield was more pronounced in the oil-pumpkin hybrid than the cultivar in all examined years. The hybrid GL Rustical was more sensitive to nitrogen treatment than the cultivar Gleisdorfi Classic.
Highlights
The approximate time of spreading of a naked seeded, called thin-coated or hull-less mutant of Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo in the southwestern part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy appears to be dated between 1870 and 1880 (Teppner, 2004)
The applied nitrogen increased the amount of photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll-a, -b and carotenoids, but the double amount of nitrogen (2N) did not result in a higher amount of these components
The hybrid GL Rustical had a higher amount of photosynthetic pigments than the cultivar Gleisdorfi Classic, mainly in the case of carotenoids in the drier year of 2018
Summary
The approximate time of spreading of a naked seeded, called thin-coated or hull-less mutant of Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo in the southwestern part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy appears to be dated between 1870 and 1880 (Teppner, 2004). The approximate time of spreading of a naked seeded, called thin-coated or hull-less mutant of Cucurbita pepo subsp. The crucial nutritionally relevant components of pumpkin seeds are protein and oil (Howitt and Pogson, 2006; Robinson, 1981). The main fatty acids of pumpkin seeds are palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. When the temperature is lower during the last weeks of seed filling, there will be a shift from oleic to linoleic acid (Murkovic et al, 1999). Because of significant amount of tocotrienols Cucurbita pepo var. The soil parameters are main factors in terms of seedless oil-pumpkin yield (Baxter et al, 2012), like soil pH (6.3 ±0.3) (Napier, 2009). The vegetative growth of plants is crucial for fruit production
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