Enhancing phenological development and yield of bitter gourd through PGRS and 3G cutting in Chhattisgarh plains

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is one of the most pharmaceutical vegetable crops in India, valued for its high yield potential and profitability for farmers. However, its cultivation is often constrained by challenges related to flowering behavior, which affects phenology and overall yield. To address this, a field experiment was conducted during the Rabi seasons of 2023-24 and 2024-25 to evaluate the combined effects of PGRs and 3G cutting on the phenological and yield-related traits of bitter gourd. The study included foliar applications of two concentrations each of GA3 (100 and 150 ppm), NAA (60 and 120 ppm), Ethephon (100 and 200 ppm), and CCC (50 and 100 ppm), along with two levels of cutting treatments (with and without 3G cutting), and an untreated control (A0). The results revealed that the phenological parameters viz., number of leaves per plant (99.07), number of secondary branches per plant (7.27) under E2P0 treatment, and node number for first male (6.85) and female flower appearance (11.89), days to first male (37.77) and female flower (47.32), number of male (178.92) and female flowers per plant (32.66), and sex ratio (5.48) were significantly found superior in Ethephon @ 200 ppm with 3G cutting (E2P1). In contrast, the control treatment (A0 water spray) recorded delayed flowering, with the first male and female flowers appearing at nodes 9.94 and 15.84, and requiring 46.85 and 61.87 days to emerge and highest number of male flowers (281.25), and a high sex ratio (14.62). Furthermore, E2P1 treatment significantly outperformed others in yield attributes, including earliest fruit harvest (72.68 days), longest fruit length (20.33 cm), fruit diameter (54.06 mm), average fruit weight (208.04 g), number of fruits per plant (33.25), and maximum fruit yield (182.82 q/ha). Conversely, the control treatment (A0) consistently recorded the lowest performance in average fruit weight (107.97 g), number of fruits per plant (9.58), and fruit yield (146.25 q/ha). The findings suggest that the integrated use of ethephon @ 200 ppm and 3G cutting is a promising agronomic strategy for enhancing phenological development and fruit yield in bitter gourd cultivation under Chhattisgarh plains condition.