Important problems may appear in the selections made by considering more than one characteristic in plant breeding studies, which can have resolutions by increasing the weight of suitable characteristics in the selection. Within the scope of this study, it aimed to develop the Weight-Based Ranking Method (WBRM) to make decisions according to multicriteria in forage watermelon, which had no prior use in forage watermelon breeding studies. Forage watermelon seeds’ sowing in viols in the greenhouse helped formed seedlings, later transplanted at 200 cm × 100 cm intervals in May 2017. An evaluation ensued according to the measurements and observations on the fruit rind color, shape of the fruit, the flesh color of the fruit, the number of fruits, fruit yield, rind thickness, Brix values in fruit, and seed yield. Significant differences were evident among the genotypes for the studied characteristics. The WBRM was successful for the selection of the most suitable fodder-type watermelon. In the WBRM, the score equivalents and percentages of the characteristics developed were within the scope of the study. The WBRM scores of the watermelon genotypes used in the study ranged from 108 to 714. The first 105 forage watermelon genotypes, with a total score of more than 500, gained selection for subsequent forage watermelon breeding studies. It was notable that the selection with the WBRM could be successfully beneficial in forage watermelon breeding and facilitate decision-making in selection.

Keywords: Breeding, forage watermelon, genotypes, selection, weight-based ranking

Key findings: It is difficult to select according to multicriteria in plant breeding. The WBRM technique and scores and percentages of characters used in selection, developed for the first time in forage watermelon breeding, was successful. Selection with the WBRM could be successful in forage watermelon breeding and facilitate decision-making in selection according to multicriteria.