Bitter Gourd

Common name: Bitter Gourd/ Karela

Botanical name: Momordica charantia

Origin: Tropical Asia

Family: Cucurbits

Introduction:

• Bitter gourd is monoecious plant.

• It is widely grown in India, Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Tropical Africa and South America.

• Bitter taste of bitter gourd is due to the presence of momordicin.

• It is very good source of vitamin, minerals, fiber, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus and iron.

• It is one of the ideal vegetable to cure diseases like diabetes, asthma and blood disease.

Climate:

• Bitter gourd is warm season crop.

• Tropical and Sub-tropical climates are suitable for the cultivation of bitter gourd.

• 25^o-30^o c of temperature is optimum for growth and high yield.

• Temperature lower than 20^o C and more than 37^o C can result in poor yield.

• Bitter gourd to some extend is tolerant to low temperature but sensitive to frost.

Soil:

• Soil pH: 5.5-6.7

• Soil should be rich in organic matter with good drainage.

• Crop is also tolerant to alkaline soils with pH of 8.0.

Season:

Generally bitter gourd is grown in monsoon and summer season. It is cultivated round the year in South and Central India.

• Sowing month in hills: April-July.

• Sowing month in plains and North India: January-March.

Fertilizer and Manures:

• Quantity of fertilizers mainly depends on the variety, climate, season and quality of the soil.

• Well decomposed FYM is needed during ploughing.

• The suggested quantity of fertilizers is given below:

• A balanced dose of nitrogen is required by soil the time of flowering.

• It is recommended not to apply any fertilizer when fruit sets.

Seed rates:

On the field of one hectare, 4 to 5 Kg of seeds are sufficient.

Seeds Spacing:

Before sowing, seeds are required to be soaked in water for a night for better germination.

• In bower system space of 2.5 × 1 m is required.

• Spacing of 2 m is required for the long furrow of 60cm width.

Land preparation:

Fine tilth ploughed land is required. Depending upon the adopted system, furrows should be opened at a distance of 1.5-2.5m.

Land preparation:

Fine tilth ploughed land is required. Depending upon the adopted system, furrows should be opened at a distance of 1.5-2.5m.

Variety:

Some of varieties of bitter gourd with their season, duration are mentioned below:

Irrigation:

• Irrigation is not that much mandatory in the season of monsoon. It should be ensured that the rainfall is well distributed (July-September).

• On the other hand if it is summer season then irrigation is required immediately after planting.

Harvesting:

• First harvest of bitter gourd takes around 55-60 days from the time of seed sowing.

• There should be an interval of 2-3 days in further pickings.

• Generally harvesting is done when fruits are still tender and a bit immature to avoid them turning yellow or yellowish-orange during the period of transportation.

• Early morning is the right time to harvest the crop and after harvesting it is required that the produced crop should be stored in shade.

Yield:

• Yield of bitter gourd depends on variety, season, and method of cultivation and on many other conditions.

• In general fruit yield can come under the range of 8-10 t/ha.