Enhancing sex ratio, yield and its attributing traits with exogenous application of phytohormones in bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria L.)

A field experiment was conducted at the Vegetable research farm, Khanaura of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab during summer seasons of 2021 and 2022 with three phyto-harmones in varying concentrations viz., Ethrel (100, 200, 300 ppm), Indole acetic acid (100, 150, 200 ppm) and Gibberellic acid (20, 40, 60 ppm) to enhance the production potential and reproductive behavior of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria M.) variety Punjab Komal. The experimental results showed that foliar spray of ethrel @ 300 ppm observed to be significantly better than control for reproductive characteristics viz., number of pistillate flowers/vine, days to first fruit harvest, fruit set percentage, lowered sex: ratio, furthermore, the exogenous application of gibberellic acid @ 60 ppm increased vine length at maturity and number of staminate flowers/vine. The yield attributing traits i.e., fruit weight, number of fruits as well as total yield/plant had also improved with ethrel @ 300 ppm. Therefore, it may be concluded that spray of the ethrel @300 ppm at 2 true leaf stage and superimposed at 4 true leaf stage can be recommended to enhance number of female flowers in bottle gourd ultimately producing early and higher fruit yield.