Effects of different plant growth regulators on plant growth, yield and fruit quality of Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) cv. Kashi Mayuri

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of plant growth regulators on plant growth, yield and fruit quality of bitter gourd (Momordica Charantia L.) cv. Kashi Mayuri in a Randomized Block Design with three replications at Horticulture Research Farm, Naini Agricultural Institute, SHUATS, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India during kharif, 2018-2019. The experiment consists of 13 treatments which includes 4 plant growth regulators at 3 different concentrations. The treatments include NAA (at 50, 75, 100 ppm), GA3 (at 15, 20, 25 ppm), CCC (at 100, 150, 200 ppm), Ethrel (at 100, 150, 200 ppm) and control (pure water) that were applied at 2 leaf stage of plant. The study revealed that GA3@25 ppm (T6) recorded maximum plant height (168.54, 288.41 and 360.41cm), number of leaves per plant (80.67, 128.58 and 238.51) at 30, 60 and 90 DAT and minimum plant growth was recorded in control (pure water). In terms of yield, number of fruits per plant (g), fruits yield per plant (kg), fruits yield per hectare (t ha-1) was recorded maximum in GA3 @25 ppm (T6) followed by GA3 @ 20 ppm(T5) and GA3 @ 15 ppm (T4). Similarly, fruit quality parameters like diameter of fruits (10.64 cm) and length of fruits (15.89 cm)total soluble solids (4.31 0Brix), Ascorbic acid content (1.90 mg/100g) was found to be maximum in GA3 @25 ppm.