KAU-MCGy-101:A promising gynoecious line of bittergourd (Momordicacharantia L.)

A gynoecious line of bittergourd, KAU-MCGy-101, identified from Department of Vegetable Science, Kerala AgriculturalUniversity, Vellanikkara is characterised by green pericarp and long ovary. Over a six year evaluation period, the gynoeciousline was assessed along with monecious varieties viz., Preethi, Priyanka and MC-136 to study morphological traits, with afocus on sex expression. The gynoecious line produced only female flowers and recorded more number of fruits per plant(49.50) and higher yield (4.92 kg plant-1).The six year trial demonstrated the stability of gynoecious sex expression ofKAU-MCGy-101, highlighting its potential for use in genetic improvement programmes of bittergourd.