MSc

Effect of date of sowing and levels of irrigation on the growth and yield of bittergourd variety Priya. An experiment was conducted at the Pepper Research Station, Vellanikkara during the summer months of 1984 -85 to study the effect of date of sowing and levels of irrigation on the growth and yield of bittergourd, variety Priya. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. The treatments consisted of seven dates of sowing (December 1st, December 16th, December 31st, January 15th , January 30th, February 14th and March 1st), in the main plot and five levels of irrigation (IW/CPE = 1, IW/CPE = 0.75, IW/CPE + 0.50, conventional irrigation and pitcher irrigation) in the sub plot.
The biometric observations of the crop growth characters, flowering and yield attributes were taken at different stages of development of the crop. Soil moisture studies were undertaken before and 24 hours after each irrigation. The observations on weather elements were recorded daily.
Irrigation at IW/CPE ratio I was significantly superior to others with regard to date and number of female flower production, number of fruits, fruit length and girth, yield, total dry matter production. The conventionally irrigated plants showed maximum vine length, flesh thickness and fruit weight. The December sown plants were superior to others with regard to most of the crop characters.
The crop weather relationship studies showed that the maximum temperature during the first 10 weeks, the minimum temperature during 7th to 11th week and relative humidity during 6th to 13th week were negatively correlated with both total yield and number of fruits per plant. While there was positive correlation between sunshine hours during 6th to 13th week and the yield characters.
It was found that irrigation and sowing date had a significant effect on overall growth and yield of the crop. The highest yield of the crop was recorded in plots irrigated at IW/CPE + 1 and sown on December 1st. The best performance was attributed to the optimum weather condition during the crop period and the effective utilization of water.
From the soil moisture studies it is evident that the consumptive use increased with the frequency of irrigation. The top 15 cm of the soil layer accounted for the highest soil moisture depletion. The depletion was more from the deeper layers in drier regimes. The water use efficiency was highest for the plants irrigated at IW/CPE = 0.5, sown on December 1st.
Results of the present investigation indicate that bittergourd can be raised successfully during the summer months if irrigated at IW/CPE ratio I and sown on December 1st.