**2.4 Fruit characters**

The improvement in fruit traits including shape, size, and color is an important target in cucumber breeding. The fruit traits like fruit weight, length diameter and number of fruit per plant are directly related to yield. The other traits like shape index (length: diameter and length/stalk ratio), fruit skin (size of spines, dull or uniform fruit color) and fruit bitterness decides the market value of fruits which are important particularly for slicing cucumber [51]. A single recessive gene controls fragrance in cucumber [52], fruit color traits were controlled by two major genes, single recessive gene, (*w*), was identified that controls white immature fruit color [53], single recessive gene controlled the inheritance of quantity of beta-carotene [54]. Green flesh color is one of the most important and commercial trait of cucumber fruit was controlled by a major effect QTL [55]. The bent characters of the fruit were quantitative inheritance controlled by multiple genes and major genes [56]. Twin fused fruits were controlled by single recessive gene [57]. Two loci controlling fruit bitterness in cucumber [24–26]. The QTLs were also identified in cucumber for several economic traits including fruit spine, skin colors, fruit netting, fruit size, hollow size, flesh thickness variation [58], fruit carpel number, sex expression, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit shape, fruit number, and powdery mildew resistance [28, 29].
