Quantitative Genetic Analysis of Yield and Its Components in Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.) Genotypes

Abstract

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is an important vegetable crop valued for its nutritional and medicinal properties. The present investigation was undertaken to assess the magnitude of genetic variability, heritability, and genetic advance for yield and yield-related traits in 68 bitter gourd genotypes evaluated during the late kharif season of 2024–25. The experiment was laid out in a Randomised Block Design with two replications to ensure reliable estimation of genetic parameters. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters studied, thereby indicating the existence of substantial genetic variability within the experimental material. The estimates of the phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were consistently slightly higher than those of the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits, suggesting a relatively minor influence of environmental factors on trait expression. Notably, high GCV and PCV values were observed for fruit yield per vine, fruit yield per hectare, average fruit weight, vine length, and ascorbic acid content, reflecting considerable scope for improvement through selection. Heritability estimates ranged from 51.00% to 99.00%, while genetic advance expressed as a percentage of the mean varied widely from 8.58% to 131.95%. Importantly, high heritability coupled with high genetic advance was recorded for yield and its principal contributing traits, indicating the predominance of additive gene action. This suggests that direct selection for these traits would be highly effective in achieving genetic improvement in bitter gourd.