Evaluation of genotypes for high yield and quality in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) under sodic soils of Tamil Nadu

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), a monoecious annual vine of Cucurbitaceae family is cultivated for its edible fruits. The experiment was carried out at Department of Vegetable Science, Horticulture College and Research Institute for Women, Tiruchirappalli during 2021-2023 with 31 bitter gourd genotypes laid out in randomised block design. Genotypes were evaluated under the sodic soils for the growth characters viz., vine length (cm), number of node at first male flower emergence, number of node at first female flower emergence; yield characters viz., number of days for first harvest, single fruit weight (g), fruit yield (g vine^-1), number of fruits per plant and quality parameter viz., total phenol content (mg GAE g^-1) and vitamin C content (mg 100g^-1). The results envisaged that among the 31 genotypes, the genotype MCPKM-04 observed for higher yield per vine (2422.80 g). The genotype MCPKM-19 was superior in terms of earliness (61.00 DAT) while MCPKM-05 performed better for vitamin C content (102.34 mg 100g^-1) and total phenol content (34.13 mg GAE g^-1) under sodic conditions. Selection of bitter gourd among the diverse genotypes with higher yield and quality necessarily help in various crop improvement programs.