Bitter Gourd Vegetable

 

Bitter Gourd Vegetable

Botanical Name : Momordica charantia 

Family : Cucurbitaceae 

Chromosome No. : 2n = 22 

                                                                                   

Bitter gourd occupies a prominent place among vine vegetables. Its botanical name is Momordica charantia. Bitter gourd is cultivated in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is cultivated in almost all the provinces of India. Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the major provinces of bitter gourd production. The birthplace of bitter gourd is considered to be the warm regions of the ancient world. From there, it was distributed in China, Malaya and subtropical Africa. It has been cultivated in India since ancient times. Its wild species are still found growing in our country. Its fruits are used as fibrous, stuffed or fried vegetable. It is cut into small pieces and dried in the sun, which are later used as off-season vegetable. It is also eaten by adding it to curry. There is a huge demand for bitter gourd abroad. Hence, it is exported from India every year, which earns foreign currency. Bitter gourd is also exported to China.

Bitter gourd is a very important and medicinal vegetable. It contains a chemical called 'Momorsidin' due to which it tastes bitter. Due to the presence of this chemical, it is used in abundance in the treatment of a disease called diabetes.

History and Origin – The birthplace of bitter gourd is considered to be the warm regions of the ancient world, from there it was distributed in China, Malaya and subtropical Africa. It has been cultivated in India for a long time. Its wild species are still seen growing in our country.

Nutritive value – Bitter gourd is a beneficial vegetable. Iron and vitamins are found in abundance in it. The food value of small and long bitter gourds is as follows in the table-                                                                  

Elements	Small bitter gourd	Long bitter gourd
Moisture Protein Fat Minerals Fiber Other carbohydrates Calcium Magnesium Phosphorus Iron Sodium Potassium Copper Sulfur Thiamine Riboflavin Nicotinic Acid Vitamin C Vitamin A Calories	83.20 g 2.10 g 1.00 g 1.40 g 4.20 g 9.80 g 50.00 mg 21.00 mg 14.00 mg 9.40 mg 2.50 mg 171.00 mg 0.19 mg 21.00 mg 0-.07 mg 0.06 mg 0.40 mg 96.00 mg 210.00 IU 60.00	94.20 g 1.60 g 0.20 g 0.80 g 0.80 g 4.20 g 20.00 mg 17.00 mg 70.00 mg 1.80 mg 17.80 mg  152.00 mg 0.18 mg 15.00 mg 0.07 mg 0.09 mg 0.50 mg 88.00 mg 210.00IU 25.00

Climate - Hot and humid climate is required for successful production of bitter gourd. Bitter gourd is unable to bear frost and its growth and development stops even in extreme cold. Excessive rainfall, humidity and cloudiness increase the spread of pests and diseases. Bitter gourd is highly affected by fluctuations in light and temperature. In abundance of light and temperature and long photoperiod, more male flowers bloom and the number of female flowers decreases considerably.

Soil - Bitter gourd can be grown in all types of soil, however, loamy and sandy loam with proper drainage are suitable. The soil should contain abundant organic matter. Plants do not grow well in highly acidic and alkaline soil. The pH value of the soil should be 6.5-7.0. Long period of hot weather, 30°-35°C temperature is optimum, whereas germination of seeds does not take place in temperatures less than 18°C. If the temperature is more than 40°C, then in that case more male flowers are produced and the crop gets affected by virus disease.

The first ploughing of the field should be done with a soil turning plough and after that 2-3 ploughings should be done with a cultivator or harrow. After every ploughing, definitely use a leveler so that the soil becomes soft and flat.

Varieties

Many improved varieties of bitter gourd have been developed, the special characteristics of which are mentioned below, which are as follows -

(1) Pusa Do Mausami - This variety is ready in 120 days. Its fruits have 7-8 continuous stripes from one edge to the other in length. This variety can be grown as a summer and rainy season crop. The weight of one fruit is 120-150 grams. 120-150 quintals of yield is obtained per hectare.

(2) Pusa Vishesh - This is a very early variety, which starts yielding fruits 55 days after sowing the seeds. Fruits are medium long, thick and green in colour. Its pulp is thick, which is suitable for making vegetables, pickles and for drying and use. Fruits are dark shiny green in colour. The average weight of the fruit is 115 grams. Pusa gives 25 percent more yield as compared to two seasons. The average length of its vine is 1.20 metres.

(3) Pusa Hybrid-1 - Plants of this variety start yielding fruits 50-55 days after sowing the seeds. It is capable of giving 42 and 58 percent more yield as compared to late varieties of bitter gourd; such as 'Pusa Vishesh' and 'Pusa Do Mausami'. Its average yield has been found to be 21-8 tonnes per hectare. This variety is suitable for commercial farming in the northern plains of the country.

(4) CO 1 - The crop duration of this variety is 115 days. Fruits are dark green in colour, thin, 30-35 cm long. The weight of each fruit is 100-200 grams. It gives 140 quintals of yield per hectare.

(5) Coimbatore cloves - The fruits of this variety are soft and white in colour, which grow 40-45 cm long. It gives 80-100 quintals of yield per hectare. This variety is suitable for growing in Kharif.

(6) Priya - The fruits are ready for first harvesting 60 days after sowing the seeds. Its fruits are 40 cm long and green in colour. 35 fruits are obtained per vine. In South India, this variety can be grown three times a year i.e. May-September, September-January and February-May. It gives 80 tonnes of yield per hectare. (7) MDU-1- It has been obtained from gamma rays on 'MC 103' variety. The crop duration of this variety is 120-130 days. Its fruits are ready for first harvesting 60 days after sowing seeds. Its fruits are white green in colour. Fruits are 35-40 cm long. It gives 300 quintals of yield per hectare.

(8) MC 23 - The fruits of this variety are ready for first harvesting 60 days after sowing seeds. Its vine grows 2 meters long. Fruits are long, very thin and green in colour. The average weight of the fruit is 62 grams.

(9) Kalyanpur perennial - This variety gives fruits throughout the year. Fruits are green and 20-25 cm long.

Other varieties are P.V.I. 1, Kalyanpur Sona, Konkan Tara, Preeti Faizabadi perennial, C.26, Hisar Selection and Arka Harit.

Manure and fertilizers - The amount of manure and fertilizers in bitter gourd is affected by the climate and variety. Manure and fertilizers should be used after Soil testing. If for some reason the soil testing is not possible, then in that case the following amount of manure and fertilizers must be applied per hectare -

Farm Yard  Manure - 20-25 tons

Nitrogen  - 20 kg

Phosphorus - 20 kg

Potash - 30 kg

Farmer manure should be spread evenly in the field before 1st July. Make a mixture of half the quantity of phosphorus, potash and nitrogen and apply it at the time of final ploughing. Apply the remaining amount of nitrogen as top dressing at the time of sowing the fruit.

Note - Azospirillum and phospho bacteria should also be used. By doing this, the quality and yield of the fruit increases.

Sowing

Sowing time - The sowing time of bitter gourd depends on where it is being grown. In South India, it is grown in June-July and December-January, while in North India it is grown in January-February. In mountainous areas, it is grown from March to June. In Rajasthan, it is grown in June-July.

 Seed Rate – The quantity of bitter gourd seeds depends on how it is being grown. If it is to be grown by preparing saplings, then in that case 2.5-3.0 kg is sufficient to prepare saplings per hectare. But when it is sown directly in the field, then in that case 4.0-5.5 kg of seeds are sufficient.

Method of sowing – Bitter gourd is sown in many ways, which are mentioned below –

Sowing in flat land – In this method, the distance between rows is kept 1.0-1.5 meters and the distance between plants is kept 60-90 cm. 3-4 seeds are sown at one place. Later only two healthy plants are left. Bitter gourd seeds are hard, so they take a lot of time to germinate. Soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours before sowing increases germination. Sowing in furrows- 60 cm wide furrows are made. Along these furrows, pits of the size 45 x 45 x 45 cm are made. The distance between rows is 1.5-2.0 m and the distance between doli is 1 m. 4-5 seeds are sown in each pit. Later, 2-3 healthy plants are left. For each plantation, 2 plants of 15 days old plants are planted in each pit.

Irrigation and drainage - Irrigation of bitter gourd depends on climate, type of soil, time of cultivation etc. Summer crop requires more irrigations than Kharif crop. Thus, clayey soil requires less irrigations than sandy soil. Summer crop should be irrigated every week, whereas irrigation of rainy season crop depends on rainfall. If there is no rain for a long time, then irrigation should be done as per requirement.

If water accumulates in the crop during rainy season, arrangements should be made to drain it immediately otherwise the crop turns yellow and dies.

Bitter Gourd Vegetable

Crop protection

Weed control Many weeds grow along with the bitter gourd crop which compete with the crop for moisture, nutrients, sunlight, space etc. Apart from this, they provide shelter to insects and diseases. Therefore, it is very important to prevent it on time. Weeding should be done once or twice before the vines spread because after the vines spread, it does not allow the weeds to grow.

Herbicides can also be used for weed control. Before germination, 2 kg of active ingredient of alachlor or butachlor should be sprayed.

Use of plant controller - To get a good yield of bitter gourd, spraying plant controller on the crop is an extremely necessary task, to which farmers do not pay enough attention. Etheral 250 ppm should be sprayed twice at an interval of 7 days at the stage of two leaves. By doing this, the number of female flowers increases.

Spraying of Psychosil 250 ppm (25 ml Psychosil 50% in 50 liters of water) at the stage of 2-4 true leaves per hectare also increases the number of female flowers per plant, which results in higher yield of bitter gourd.

Pest control

Laldi (Red Pumpkin Beetle) - This insect is red in color and is 5-8 cm long. It eats the middle part of the crop leaves, as a result of which the leaves look like sieve. The process of photosynthesis by the leaves is adversely affected.

For its prevention, 0.02 percent solution of Malathion should be sprayed.

Fruit fly - Its size is like a housefly. It enters the fruits by making holes in them. It lays eggs inside the fruit and those eggs break inside the fruit and the maggots developed from them keep growing inside the fruit and get their food from the pulp of the fruit. The insect-infested fruits get deformed or rot. The following measures should be taken for its prevention -

- The insect-infested fruits should be plucked and destroyed.

- In the initial stage, 0.02% solution of Malathion should be sprayed.

Champa (Aphid) - These are very small green insects which suck the juice from the soft parts of the plants. The number of these insects increases rapidly. The leaves turn yellow and their vitality is adversely affected. This insect spreads viral diseases.

For the prevention of the insect, 0-2% solution of Metasystox should be sprayed. Epilacna beetle—Both the larvae and adults of this insect attack the leaves and eat the green part between the leaves and convert it into powder.

To prevent this, 0-2% solution of Malathion should be sprayed.

 Disease control

Powdery mildew - This disease is caused by a fungus called 'Erysiphe cichoracearum'. In this, white spots appear on the lower surface of old leaves. Gradually the number and size of these spots increase and later powdery growth appears on both sides of the leaves. The normal growth of these leaves stops and they turn yellow. When new leaves are attacked by them, they become chlorotic and the plant dies.

To control this disease, 0.3% Karathane should be sprayed weekly.

Downy mildew - This disease is caused by a fungus called 'Peronospora cubensis'. This disease occurs in areas with high heat, rainfall and humidity. Yellow spots appear on the upper part of the leaves of the diseased plants and purple spots on the lower part. In severe form, the stem and rhizomes are also attacked, the leaves dry up and fall.

To control this disease, spraying should be done by dissolving 0.21% of Dithane M 45.

Plucking of fruits – It is very important to pluck the bitter gourd fruits at the right stage, so the fruits should be plucked when they are small and tender. Generally, bitter gourd should be plucked 60-70 days after sowing. Otherwise, the fruits turn yellow. Bitter gourd fruits should be plucked at an interval of 3 days.

Grading – After plucking the fruits, their grading is very important. The crooked, insect and diseased fruits of bitter gourd should be separated. By doing this, the market price of bitter gourd is higher.

Yield – The yield of bitter gourd depends on many things, among which the fertility of the land, the variety grown and the care of the crop are important. If bitter gourd is cultivated by the above mentioned method, then 100-150 quintals of yield can be taken per hectare.