Effect of plant growth regulators on yield and economics of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in bottle gourd to study the effect of three plant growth regulator (PGR) viz., gibberellic acid (GA3), Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and ethrel for growth trait, fruit characters and economics of bottle gourd. foliage application of Ethrel @ 200 ppm was found beneficial for number of fruits per vine, fruit yield (kg/vine), days to 1st harvest, whereas maximum fruit length, fruits weight and fruits girth was obtained by the application of distilled water however maximum vine length, total number of node per vine was obtained by the foliage application of GA3 @ 150 ppm. Based on these observations, it could be suggested that the significant increase in growth and fruit characters would be obtained by the spraying of ethrel 200 ppm at 2 and 4 true leaves.