Gibberellic Acid Induced Changes on Growth, Yield, Superoxide Dismutase, Catalase and Peroxidase in Fruits of Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.)

Bitter gourd is one of the important cucurbits and highly liked among both farmers and consumers due to its high net return and nutritional value. However, being monoecious, it exhibits substantial variation in flower bearing pattern. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are known to influence crop phenology while gibberellic acid (GA(3)) is one of the most prominent PGRs that influence cucurbits phenology. Therefore, a field trial was conducted at University of Agriculture Faisalabad to evaluate the impact of a commercial product of gibberellic acid (GA(3)) on growth, yield and quality attributes of two bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) cultivars. We used five different concentrations (0.4 g, 0.6 g, 0.8 g, 1.0 g, and 1.2 g per litre) of commercial GA(3) product (Gibberex, 10% Gibberellic acid). Results showed that a higher concentration of gibberex (1.0 and 1.20 g L-1 water) enhanced the petiole length, intermodal length, and yield of bitter gourd cultivars over control in Golu hybrid and Faisalabad Long. A significant decrease in the enzyme superoxidase dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase activities were observed with an increasing concentration of gibberex (1.0 and 1.20 gL(-1) water) as compared to control. These results indicate that the exogenous application of gibberex at a higher concentration (1.2 g L-1) has a dual action in bitter gourd plant: i) it enhances the plant growth and yield, and ii) it also influenced the antioxidant enzyme activities in fruits. These findings may have a meaningful, practical use for farmers involved in agriculture and horticulture.