Performance of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) hybrids for growth, yield and quality under Prayagraj Agro-climatic condition

Introduction

India's diverse climatic conditions make it an ideal location for growing various horticultural crops, including fruits, vegetables, flowers, aromatic and medicinal plants, spices, and plantation crops. Fruits and vegetables play a crucial role in the human diet, providing essential minerals, vitamins, and fibers for maintaining health. India is currently the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables globally, with a total production of 184.39 million tonnes from an area of 10.25 million hectares, with a productivity of 17.98 tonne per hectare. Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is a tropical and subtropical important commercial vegetable crop belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae, genus Momordica. It is widely cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Japan, Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, and South America. The bitter gourd is known for its bitter tender fruits, which are superior in nutritive value and covered with blunt tubercles (Thamburaj and Singh, 2018) [15] . The genus Momordica comprises 40 species distributed chiefly in Africa, with about 10 species in Southeast Asia, out of which 7 species are reported to occur in India. In India, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala are the major growing states of this genus. The bitter taste of the fruit is due to the presence of non-toxic alkaloid "momordicine" which is different from "cucurbitacins" present in other genera of cucurbits. Despite the economic and medicinal importance of bitter gourd, there is a prime need for crop improvement to develop varieties or hybrids suitable to specific conditions. Heterosis breeding is one of the best methods to achieve higher yield and quality in bitter gourd. F1 hybrids offer several advantages such as earliness, high yield, improved quality, uniformity, wider adaptability, and resistance to pests and diseases. Varietal analysis techniques have been found to be useful tools for obtaining precise information about gene actions involved in the expression of various traits and predicting the performance of progenies in later segregating generations. Each variety has its own significant effect on yield and yield components as well as quality parameters of the crop. (Lemma et al. 2008) [8] .

Materials and Methods

"Performance of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) hybrids for growth, yield, and quality under Prayagraj Agro-climatic condition," was undertaken at Vegetable Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj (UP) during 2024-2025. The experiment was carried out to study the growth parameter, yield and quality parameters of different bitter gourd hybrids. Details are mentioned in this chapter regarding the materials and techniques used throughout the course of the investigation.

Results and Discussion

Growth Parameters Days to Germination

The minimum days to germination of bitter gourd was recorded in H12 (2021/BIGHYB-4 AVT-II) with 7.93 while the maximum days to germination was 9.40 recorded in H11 (2021/BIGHYB-3 AVT-II). A similar study was also conducted in bitter gourd seed in which, the pre-germinated seeds resulted in rapid and uniform germination with better seedling emergence (Thirusenduraselvi and Jerlin, 2010).

Germination Percentage

The maximum Germination percentage was 78.55 recorded in H16 (AAKASH), followed by H8 (2023/BIGHYB-8 IET), while the minimum Germination percentage of bitter gourd was recorded in H3 (2023/BIGHYB-3 IET) with 58.66. The highest germination percentage can be attributed to a combination of soil and environmental factors.

The data related to Vine length (m) the maximum 3.33 was recorded in H6 (2023/BIGHYB-6 IET), followed by H8 (2023/BIGHYB-8 IET), while the minimum Vine length (m) of bitter gourd was recorded in H3 (2023/BIGHYB-3 IET) with 1.56. Additionally, external factors such as sunlight exposure, temperature and soil fertility play role in vine length. These improvements were attributed to the increased enzyme activities.

Nevertheless, the morphological changes and softening in seed coat and seed treatment-stimulated embryo growth might also play crucial role in speeding up the seedling emergence by Nayak et al. (2016) [11] .

Floral Parameters No. of days to first male flower appearance

The minimum No. of days to first male flower appearance of bitter gourd was recorded in H4 (2023/BIGHYB-4 IET) with 37.00 while the maximum No. of days to first male flower appearance 44.53 was recorded in H16 (AAKASH), followed by H14 (2021/BIGHYB-6 AVT-II). The No. of days to first male flower appearance plays an important role in deciding the earliness or lateness of crop in general. Additionally, environmental factors such as temperature, photoperiod and nutrient availability can influence flowering time. Similar finding was reported by Kumar et al. (2011) in Bitter gourd. Similar results were also reported by Rao and Rao (2008) [12] in Ridge gourd.

No. of days to first female flower appearance

Node at which first female flower appears

Node at which first male flower appears Among the different hybrids the minimum node number at which first male flower appears of different hybrids of bitter gourd was recorded in H5 (2023/BIGHYB-5 IET) with 3.00 while the maximum node number at which first male flower appears was recorded in H14 (2021/BIGHYB-6 AVT-II) with 14.00 followed by H16 (AAKASH). The node number at which first male flower appears play an important role in deciding the earliness or lateness of crop in general. Similar finding was reported by Kumar et al. (2011) [6] in Bitter gourd. Similar results were also reported by Rao and Rao (2008) [12] in Ridge gourd. Node to first male and female also reported wide range of variability. Considerable variation for the character was also reported by Thakur et al, (1944) [13] in bitter gourd and Varalakshmi in bitter gourd. The occurrence of first male flower is attributed to genetic factors and the plants efficiency. The benefit of having first male flower at a lower node is that it accelerates the reproductive cycle leading to earlier pollination. Earlier pollination enhances fruit set and overall crop yield.

Number of days to 50% flowering

The data related to number of days to 50% flowering the minimum number of days to 50% flowering of bitter gourd was recorded in H10 (2021/BIGHYB-2 AVT-II) with 39.00 while the maximum was recorded in H2 (2023/BIGHYB-2 IET) with 46.00. The results are in agreement with the finding of Aruna and Swaminathan (2012) [1] and Husna et al. (2011) [5] in Bottle gourd. Similarly, the variation in number of days to 50% flowering might be due to the specific genetic constitution, inherent character and vigour of different genotypes. Considerable variability was reported by Ram, for number of days to 50% flowering and Yadav, et al. (2008) [17] . The minimum no. of days to 50% flowering can be attributed to genetic and environmental factors. [9] . Additionally environmental factors such as pollination efficiency, availability of nutrients, water and optimal growing conditions can influence fruit production.

The maximum Fruit Length (cm) 13.73 was recorded in H14 (2021/BIGHYB-6 AVT-II), followed by H12 (2021/BIGHYB-4 AVT-II), while the minimum Fruit Length (cm) of bitter gourd was recorded in H1 (2023/BIGHYB-1 IET) with 5.93. The better performance of enhanced fruit length can be attributed to genetic factors and environmental condition. The Similar findings were previously reported by Mishra et al. (2019) [10] , Kumar S, Thakur, P et al. (2013) [14] and also reported more or less similar results in Bitter gourd.

The maximum Fruit Diameter (cm) 5.93 was recorded in H1 (2023/BIGHYB-1 IET), followed by H15 (2021/BIGHYB-7 AVT-II), while the minimum Fruit Diameter (cm) of Bitter gourd was recorded in H3 (2023/BIGHYB-3 IET) with 3.21. The length of fruits may be due to its hybrid vigour and adaptability to Prayagraj Agro-climatic condition and genetic factors. The Similar findings were previously reported by Mishra et al. (2019) [10] , Kumar, S et al. ( 2018), Thakur, P et al.

(2013) [14] and also reported more or less similar results in Bitter gourd.

The maximum Fruit Weight (g) 90.00 was recorded in H14 (2023/BIGHYB-7 IET), followed by H12 (2021/BIGHYB-4 AVT-II), while the minimum Fruit Weight (g) of bitter gourd was recorded in H15 (2021/BIGHYB-7 AVT-II) with 43.30. The significant variation in weight of fruits might have been due to fruit set percentage, fruit length, number of fruits per vine and fruit width, genetic nature, environmental factor and vigour of the crop and higher uptake of nutrient. The findings were supported by Kumar et al. (2018) [7] , and Mishra et al. (2019) [10] also reported more or less similar results in Bitter gourd.

Yield of fruits kg/plant

The data related to Yield of fruits (kg/plant), the maximum 2.00 was recorded in H12 (2021/BIGHYB-4 AVT-II), followed by H14 (2021/BIGHYB-6 AVT-II), while the minimum Yield of fruits kg/plant) of bitter gourd was recorded in H16 (AAKASH) with 0.9. Increasing of number of fruits plant is mostly influenced by genetic factor, environmental factor, hormonal factor and vigour of the crop. The Fruit plant is one of the major factors for deciding the yield of the crop. The Similar findings were previously reported by Kumar Sushil, et al. (2018), Thakur, P et al. (2013) [14] , Husna, A et al. (2011) [5] .

Yield of fruits / hectare (t/h)

Regarding in Yield of fruits per hectare (t/h), the maximum 20.70 was recorded in H12 (2021/BIGHYB-4 AVT-II), followed by H8 (2023/BIGHYB-8 IET), while the minimum Yield of fruits per hectare (t/h) of bitter gourd was recorded in H3 (2023/BIGHYB-3 IET) with 9.05. The higher yield of fruits is due to its inherent characteristics, better adaptability for the environmental condition and efficiently all available factors viz. water, nutrient, light and CO₂. None of the treatments significantly influenced the plant stand. The Similar findings were previously reported by Kumar, K et al. (2018) [7] , Thakur, P et al. (2013) [14] Husna, A et al. (2011) [5] .

Quality Parameters Total soluble solid (°Brix)

The maximum Total soluble solid (°Brix) 4.70 was recorded in H12 (2021/BIGHYB-4 AVT-II), followed by H8 (2023/BIGHYB-8 IET) and the minimum Total soluble solid (°Brix) of bitter gourd was recorded in H4 (2023/BIGHYB-4 IET) with 3.1. The difference may be due to the inherent character and genetic makeup of the varieties and environmental condition and the similar findings were previously reported by Aruna & Swaminathan et al. (2012) [1] , Harika et al. (2012) and Iqbal, M et al. (2018).

The data related to Vitamin C (mg/100g), the maximum 60.00 was recorded in H12 (2021/BIGHYB-4 AVT-II), followed by H8 (2023/BIGHYB-8 IET), and the minimum Vitamin C (mg/100g) of bitter gourd was recorded in H2 (2023/BIGHYB-2 IET) with 51.40. The difference may be due to the inherent character and genetic makeup of the varieties and environmental condition the similar findings were previously reported by Aruna & Swaminathan et al. (2012) [1]

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementThe author is very much thankful to Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences for providing experimental material, lab, and other facilities during the research work.

References

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