Botanical Name: Momordica charantia
Varieties:
Priya: Long green fruits
Priyanka: White large spindle fruits
Preethi : White spiny medium long fruits
Climate & Soil: Warm humid climate. Well-drained sandy loam or silt loam soil.
Season: May-August, September-December, January-March
Seed rate: 1-1.5kg/ha
Seeds available with VFPCK: Preethi, Priyanka
Spacing: Pit size of 60 X 30-45 cm are taken at a spacing of 2 x 2 m and seeds are sown @ 4-5 per pit. Unhealthy plants are removed after two weeks and only 3 plants are retained per pit.
Nutrient management : Apply FYM @ 20-25 t/ha as basal dose along with half dose of N (35 kg) and full doses of P2O5 (25 kg) and K2O (25 kg). The remaining dose of N (35 kg) can be applied in several split doses at fortnightly intervals.
Crop Management: Erect pandals when the plants start vining.Pandals have to be erected at a height of 6-8 feet using bamboo stakes and G.I. wire. Conduct weeding and irrigation whenever necessary.
Pest Management :

• Jassid, White flies, Aphids : Sucks sap from the lower side of the leaf. Apply Neem oil emulsion 2.5% with garlic paste(20g/l)/ Malathion 50 EC(2ml/l) with garlic paste(20g/l).
• Fruit fly : Adult flies puncture the fruits with the ovipositor and insert the eggs inside the fruits. Maggots feed on the fruits which get rotten . Bait traps with carbofuran granules, Malathion 50 EC (2 ml per litre), Field sanitation.
• Epilachna beetle : Both adult and grubs scrape the leaf lamina and skeletanise the leaves. Malathion 50 EC (2 ml per litre), mechanical control
• Pumpkin Caterpillar, Semi looper : Feeds on the leaf and bore the fruits 1l Kiriyath extract + 1 l of cow’s urine in 10 litres of water, add 10 g of green chilli paste.
• American serpentine leaf miner : Eats away the chlorophyll of the leaves leaving snake like white scars. Neem oil emulsion at 2.5%.
• Pumpkin beetle : Adults feed on the leaves and grubs bore the roots. Apply neem cake,Soil drenching - Ekalux (2ml/l)

Disease Management :

• Downy mildew : Yellow spots on the upper surface and water soaked fungal spots on the lower surface of leaves. Dithane M.45 ( 4g/l), Field sanitation.
• Powdery mildew : Ashy spots on the leaves and stem. Bavistin (4g/l), Field sanitation.
• Mosaic : Yellow and green mottled appearance. Control the vector insects- White flies, jassids, Field sanitation.

Harvesting: Harvest at young, tender stage 55-60 days after planting, twice in a week.
Yield: 20 – 25 t/ha
Post Harvesting: Pack the fruits carefully in gunny bags without damaging the spines and transport to the market without any delay.
Seed Collection: