Studies on the mean performance of F4 families of bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus) for growth and yield

Bhendi is one of the versatile and nutritious vegetables suited for year-round cultivation owing to its wider adaptability. Due to its' short duration it could fit well in any cropping system and the cultivation of paddy in the Deltaic Zone with the increased cost of labour and uncertainty over water availability and frequent floods had made it less remunerative. This necessitates the farming community to look for an alternate crop for a continuous and sustained return. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out during 2019 at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College of Agriculture and Research Institute, Karaikal, UT of Puducherry, India. The study material comprised of 30 F4 families identified as superior based on the individual plant performance in F3 generation for the major yield contributing traits viz., earliness, number and yield of fruits/plant. Among the 30 F4 families, AE 1-081-808 and AE 1-016-157 were found early to flower in 34.44 days, while the lowest flowering node of 3.89 was observed in AE 1-015-142 and AE 1-007-070. The inter nodal length was the shortest in AE 2-079-782 (5.53 cm), whereas the highest plant height at final harvest was recorded in AE 1-007-070 (160.40 cm). The family AE 2- 043-429 (4.00) has recorded the highest number of primary branches/plant at final harvest while, the fruit length observed was the maximum in AE 1-081-808 (14.94 cm). The fruit girth observed was the maximum in AE 2-011-110 (6.68 cm), the highest number of fruits/plant was observed in AE 1-084-832 (27.44). The family AE 1-016-157 (377.31 g) had registered the highest fruit yield/plant among the 30 families evaluated. The F4 families AE 1-016-157 and AE 1-007-070 were found to perform well in terms of various growth and yield traits and can be utilised for further breeding programme.