Effects of Cultivation Method on Seed Yield and Quality of Bitter Gourd

Abstract

This experiment was carried out to study the possibility of producing germinating seeds of bitter gourd (Momordica charamtia L.) in the climatic conditions of Europe. Seeds of Indian cultivar ‘Nana’ were sown in the greenhouse and produced transplants were planted on the field. The plants were cultivated in the field in 2 ways: tied to the sticks or creeping on the ground. During the vegetation, the ripen fruits with seeds were collected 6 times, and after extracting, they were germinated in the laboratory following the routine ISTA rules. The best transplants of bitter gourd were received within one month from the seeds emerging 51.8%. The transplant of bitter gourd had average height of 7 cm, 3-4 leaves, out of which the biggest had the width of 5 cm. Such transplants would grow into fruiting plants. When growing bitter gourd for seeds, the earliest fruits were harvested from the plants tied to the sticks. Moreover, the best seeds were harvested from 2/3 of early fruits. For the purpose of seed production, it is recommended to keep only 3-4 fruits per plant and remove other fruits. The produced seeds germinated from 8% to 24%. If the plants were tied to the sticks, their fruits ripened earlier. The used production way and time of harvest of fruits had no effect on the seed germination. The cultivation methods of bitter gourd plants had no effect on the chemical components of fruits.