15 - Bitter gourd: Momordica spp.

Abstract

Publisher Summary A native of the Old World tropics, bitter gourd—also known as bitter melon, balsam pear, or bitter cucumber—belongs to Cucurbitaceae and genus Momordica, a genus of annual or perennial climbers. It is a large genus consisting of about 80 species, of which Momordica charantia Linn is widely cultivated. In terms of nutritive value, bitter gourd ranks first among cucurbits, the most important nutritional contribution being vitamins and minerals, especially iron, phosphorus, and ascorbic acid. Immature fruit is pickled, stuffed, stir-fried, and prepared in many other ways. The fruits, young shoots, and flowers are used for flavorings, the leaves as greens, and the pulpy arils as a sweet. Breeding for self-staked varieties—varieties that are high yielding and early bearing—and development of lines resistant to fruit fly are a few of the major breeding objectives in bitter gourd. There is great scope to exploit heterosis in this crop. Evolving varieties suited for canning and dehydration is yet another objective. Single plant selection, mass selection, pedigree method, and bulk population method are the common breeding methods followed for bitter gourd breeding. Heterosis is exploited in bitter gourd breeding as well. As this plant is monoecious, production of F1 hybrids is simple and economical. “Pusa Do Mausami,” “Arka Harit,” “Priya,” “Balsam Pear,” “Coimbatore Long,” and “Pusa Visesh” are a few of the high-yielding selections in bitter gourd. The bitter principle momordicine lowers blood glucose content in humans; this observation has aroused considerable pharmacological interest in the crop. Market surveys in the tropics indicate growing awareness of the crop among consumers.