9.INTERNATIONALCONFERENCE ONAGRICULTURE,ANIMAL SCIENCESANDRURAL DEVELOPMENT, Burdur, Turkey, 19 - 20 March 2022, pp.966-975
This study was carried out to determine the relationships between fruit weight, fruit length, fruit
flesh weight, red seed coat weight per fruit, seed weight per fruit and number of seeds per fruit
in bitter melon plant. The study was carried out in field conditions in Rize for 2 years. Seedlings
grown in viols were planted in trial plots at a distance of 70x50 cm at the period of 4-5 leaves.
The fruits were harvested every two days when they reached maximum weight and turned
orange. A total of 10 fruit harvests were made in August and the harvest was completed in 18
days. The share of harvested fruits in the total product ranged from 5.2% to 14.9%. The lowest
share occured on the first harvest day while the highest share was realized in the 7th Harvest.
52% of the total product was reached on the 6th harvest day. The data showed that the variation
in average fruit weight depending on the harvest time in the 18-day harvest period was not
statistically significant. The results contain important data regarding the distribution of the
harvested fruits in terms of weight within the harvest period. During the harvest, the planned
measurements were made on a total of 20 fruits randomly selected from among the fruits taken
from 20 plants, and the average values of some fruit characteristics were determined and the
relationships between these traits were clearly revealed. When evaluated over 2-years averages;
fruit weight, 92.2±19.2 g; fruit length, 14.4±1.7 cm; fruit flesh weight, 73.0±14.8 g; red seed
coat weight per fruit, 13.8±3.9 g; number of seeds per fruit, 21.9±5.7 pieces; seed weight per
fruit was determined as 4.65±1.3 g. According to the results of the correlation analysis, the trait
showing the highest correlation with fruit weight was the fruit flesh weight (r=0.989, P <0.01)
and followed by seed weight per fruit (r=0.917, P<0.01), number of seeds per fruit (r=0.871,
P<0.01), P<0.01), red seed cover weight (r=0.816, P<0.01) and fruit length (r=0.707, P<0.01)
respectively.