Effect of Seed Priming with Plant Extracts and Its Duration on the Growth and Yield of Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.)

Abstract

A research titled "Effect of seed priming on bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) with plant extracts and priming durations" was carried out at the Horticulture Research Farm, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan in the summer season of 2023. The experiment employed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two factors and three replications. The first factor examined various plant extracts (including untreated seeds, distilled water, Moringa leaf extract (MLE) at 30 gL^-1, sprouted garlic extract at 20 gL^-1, willow twig extract at 50 gL^-1, and maize grain extract at 50gL^-1), while the second variable explored priming durations of 0 (control), 8, 16, and 24 hours, with 8-hour intervals. Bitter gourd seeds (Cv. Desi Green) were subjected to priming treatments for varying durations. Results demonstrated that both plant extracts and priming duration significantly influenced all evaluated parameters of bitter gourd growth and yield. Seeds treated with MLE at 30 gL^-1 exhibited superior performance across all metrics, including reduced germination time (6.67 days), highest emergence rate (89.17%), greatest plant height (404.08cm), maximum branch count (10.23 per plant), highest chlorophyll content (50.72 SPAD), earliest flowering (41.00 days) and optimal fruit characteristics (151.68g individual fruit weight, 15.73cm fruit length) resulting in the highest yield (22.65 tons ha^-1). Maize grain extract ranked second in effectiveness across all studied parameters. Likewise, seed priming duration also significantly affected all evaluated traits. The 24-hour priming treatment produced the most favorable results, including shortest germination period (7.00 days), highest emergence percentage (86.40%), tallest plants (403.38cm), maximum branch count (9.99 per plant), highest chlorophyll content (50.34 SPAD), earliest flowering (40.87 days), and optimal fruit characteristics (149.27g individual fruit weight, 15.95cm fruit length) leading to the highest yield (22.01 tons ha^-1). Unprimed seeds consistently demonstrated the poorest performance compared to all priming treatments. Based on these findings, it is recommended for the bitter gourd growers in Peshawar region to carry out seed priming with MLE at 30 gL^-1 concentrations for a duration of 24 hours in order to achieve optimal growth and yield outcomes.