Assessment of genetic diversity of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) through morphological characterization and multi-variate analysis

Abstract

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) is popular vegetable because of its rich nutritional profile and potent medicinal properties. In the present research, the genetic diversity of 38 genotypes of bitter gourd was evaluated for nineteen quantitative and nine visual parameters. The trial was conducted during spring-summer season of 2025 at the Vegetable Research Centre, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar and was laid out in RCBD with three replications. High GCV, PCV, heritability and genetic advance represented significant genetic variability and scope for direct selection. Average fruit yield per plant showed positive correlation with growth and fruit traits, while negative correlation with flowering and maturity traits. Path coefficient analysis revealed direct positive effects of key traits on average fruit yield per plant. Mahalanobis D² statistics categorized the genotypes into six clusters, with cluster I and II being the largest. Intra-cluster distance was minimum in cluster IV, while maximum inter-cluster distance was noted between cluster I and cluster VI. 89.5 % of total genetic variance was explained by first six principal components and the PCA biplot clearly illustrated clustering, correlations and genetic divergence among the genotypes. Genotypes 2024/PBIG-38, 2024/PBIG-40 and 2024/PBIG-54 were found superior compared to standard check Pant Karela-1 for major yield contributing parameters.