Seed yield and quality as affected by weed management practices in bitter gourd

Effect of weed management practices on seed yield and quality of bitter gourd var. Preethi wasstudied during 2016-17. The results showed that highest seed yield (0.73t/ha) was recorded inthe treatment Pendimethalin @0.75 a.i. /ha plus one hand weeding at 40 DAS followed bymulching using black polythene (0.65t/ha) which were on par. The lowest seed yield (0.18t/ha)was in weedy check. Weed control efficiency was highest (100%) in mulching with blackpolythene followed by application of pendimethalin +one hand weeding at 40DAS (97.97).Seed quality in terms of percentage germination (82.52) , vigour index I(1924.15) and Vigourindex II ( 27.24) were significantly superior in mulching with black polythene and was on parwith weed free check and application of Pendimenthalin + one hand weeding at 40 DAS.Highest seedling length (26.10cm) and seedling fresh weight (2.45g) were also recorded in thesame treatment. However, there was no significant difference between treatments for seedlingdry weight.