Morphological characterization and evaluation of promising genotypes in spine gourd (Momordica dioica Roxb)

Spine gourd (Momordica dioica Roxb) is an important vegetable crop with good nutritional and medicinal value that exhibits a high degree of morphological diversity. Eight qualitative characters and 12 quantitative variables were assessed for each of the twelve promising genotypes of spine gourd at horticulture farm of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, Chhattisgarh during kharif 2018 and 2019. Categorical differences were observed for all the characters except fruit length and number of seeds/fruit. Several of these characters are useful for genetic markers and for farmers to protect their varieties, productivity and attractiveness in spine gourd.