Effect of phosphorus and potassium on yield and quality characters of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) ecotype ‘Mithipagal’

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India during 2013-2014 on effect of Phosphorus and Potassium on growth and yield characters of bitter gourd ecotype ‘Mithipagal’. The treatments comprised of four levels of Phosphorus (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg ha-1) and three levels of Potassium (0, 40 and 80 kg ha-1) comprised of twelve treatment combinations under Factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications. Nitrogen @90 kg ha-1 was applied in all treatments as constant dose except the control. Among the graded levels, P3K2 (Phosphorus 90 kg ha-1+ Potassium 80 kg ha-1) registered the maximum values in yield parameters viz, number of fruits plant-1, fruit weight, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit volume, fruit yield plant-1 and fruit yield ha-1. However, it was closely followed by P2K2. The maximum values of quality characters were found with the treatment combination of P3K2, which registered the maximum Ascorbic acid content and Total soluble solids.