Common name: Bitter Gourd/ Karela
Botanical name: Momordica charantia
Origin: Tropical Asia
Family: Cucurbits
Introduction:
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Bitter gourd is monoecious plant.
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It is widely grown in India, Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Tropical Africa and South America.
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Bitter taste of bitter gourd is due to the presence of momordicin.
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It is very good source of vitamin, minerals, fiber, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus and iron.
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It is one of the ideal vegetable to cure diseases like diabetes, asthma and blood disease.
Climate:
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Bitter gourd is warm season crop.
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Tropical and Sub-tropical climates are suitable for the cultivation of bitter gourd.
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25o-30o c of temperature is optimum for growth and high yield.
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Temperature lower than 20o C and more than 37o C can result in poor yield.
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Bitter gourd to some extend is tolerant to low temperature but sensitive to frost.
Soil:
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Soil pH: 5.5-6.7
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Soil should be rich in organic matter with good drainage.
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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.
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Sowing month in hills: April-July.
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Sowing month in plains and North India: January-March.
Fertilizer and Manures:
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Quantity of fertilizers mainly depends on the variety, climate, season and quality of the soil.
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Well decomposed FYM is needed during ploughing.
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The suggested quantity of fertilizers is given below:
Fertilizers |
Quantity per hectare |
Nitrogen |
50-100 Kg |
Phosphorous |
40-60 Kg |
Potassium oxide |
30-60 kg |
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A balanced dose of nitrogen is required by soil the time of flowering.
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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.
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In bower system space of 2.5 × 1 m is required.
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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:
Variety |
Duration(days) |
Season |
Released by |
Pusa domausmi |
55 |
Summer, spring, monsoon |
I.A.R.I, New Delhi |
Arka Harit |
100-110 |
Summer and monsoon |
IIHR, Bangalore |
VK-(Priya) |
60 |
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Kerala Agriculture University |
Pusavishesh |
55 |
summer |
I.A.R.I, New Delhi |
Irrigation:
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Irrigation is not that much mandatory in the season of monsoon. It should be ensured that the rainfall is well distributed (July-September).
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On the other hand if it is summer season then irrigation is required immediately after planting.
Harvesting:
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First harvest of bitter gourd takes around 55-60 days from the time of seed sowing.
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There should be an interval of 2-3 days in further pickings.
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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.
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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:
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Yield of bitter gourd depends on variety, season, and method of cultivation and on many other conditions.
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In general fruit yield can come under the range of 8-10 t/ha.