Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Review Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp2 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Analysis of various strategies for improvement of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) crop: A review

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.9408
Submitted
11 May 2025
Published
20-06-2026

Abstract

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, is cultivated as both a vegetable and medicinal herb in Asia and Africa. Genetic diversity is crucial for agricultural growth and ecological adaptability, particularly as hybrid crops may threaten regional variations. Advanced breeding techniques offer significant advantages over traditional methods, enabling faster and more precise development of desirable traits, such as enhanced resistance and adaptability. Heterosis breeding improves bitter gourd quality by producing hybrids with uniform colour, fewer seeds, greater vigour and higher yields, thereby enhancing productivity and climate resilience. Introducing genetic variation through mutant breeding and inter-/intra-specific hybridisation facilitates the development of cultivars with disease resistance and stress tolerance. Biotechnological tools, such as tissue culture and genetic engineering, further enhance attributes like pest resistance and nutritional value. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) streamlines conventional breeding by incorporating single-gene traits into breeding lines. Recent advances in genomics, including high-throughput sequencing and the draft genome of the Japanese line OHB3-1, have provided deeper insights into the genetic structure of bitter gourd, enabling targeted crop improvement. Integrating these breeding techniques and technologies holds the potential to significantly enhance bitter gourd's productivity, resistance and adaptation across diverse agro-ecological conditions.

References

  1. 1. Robinson RW, Decker-Walters DS. Cucurbits. Wallingford (UK): CAB International; 1997. (Crop Production Science in Horticulture Series, No. 6).
  2. 2. Grumet R, Katzir N, Garcia-Mas J, editors. Genetics and genomics of Cucurbitaceae. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017. (Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models, Vol. 20). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49332-9
  3. 3. de Wilde WJJO, Duyfjes BEE. Momordica (Cucurbitaceae) in Asia. Watsonia. 2002;24:133–225.
  4. 4. Schaefer H, Renner SS. A phylogeny of the Cucurbitaceae, as inferred from 11 gene regions and a new classification into 15 tribes. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2011;59(1):172–95.
  5. 5. Bharathi LK, Joseph John K. The Momordica genus in Asia: a review on its genetic resources and breeding. New York: Nova Science Publishers; 2013.
  6. 6. Morton JF. Bitter gourd. In: Fruits of warm climates. Miami (FL): J.F. Morton; 1987. p. 167–9.
  7. 7. Behera TK. Bitter gourd: botany, genetics and breeding. In: Rai M, Pandey AK, editors. Breeding and improvement of cucurbits. New York: Science Publishers; 2011. p. 185–207.
  8. 8. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAOSTAT production indices-pumpkins, squash and gourds, India. Rome: FAO; 2024.
  9. 9. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Momordica charantia L. In: Plants of the World Online. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens; 2025.
  10. 10. Layek U, Bisui S, Karmakar P. Interactions of flower visitors with bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) and effects of right target and wrong target flower visits on plant reproduction. Sci Rep. 2025;15:36974. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-20968-w
  11. 11. Heuzé V, Tran G, Edouard N, Hassoun P, Lebas F. Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia). In: Feedipedia: animal feed resources information system. Paris: INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO; 2021.
  12. 12. Joseph B, Jini D. Antidiabetic effects of Momordica charantia (bitter melon) and its medicinal potency. Asian Pac J Trop Dis. 2013;3(2):93–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2222-1808(13)60052-3
  13. 13. Esquinas-Alcázar J. Protecting crop genetic diversity for food security: political, ethical and technical challenges. Nat Rev Genet. 2005;6(12):946–53. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1729
  14. 14. Dwivedi SL, Ceccarelli S, Blair MW, Upadhyaya HD, Are AK, Ortiz R. Landrace germplasm for improving yield and abiotic stress adaptation. Trends Plant Sci. 2016;21(1):31–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2015.10.012
  15. 15. Dhillon NPS, Sanguansil S, Schafleitner R, Wang YW, McCreight JD. Diversity among a wide Asian collection of bitter gourd landraces and their genetic relationships with commercial hybrid cultivars. J Am Soc Hortic Sci. 2016;141(5):475–84. https://doi.org/10.21273/JASHS03748-16
  16. 16. Horax R, Hettiarachchy N, Kannan A, Chen P. Proximate composition and amino acid and mineral contents of Momordica charantia L. pericarp and seeds at different maturity stages. Food Chem. 2010;122(1):111–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2010.03.093
  17. 17. Mallikarjuna KN, Tomar BS, Mangal M, Singh N, Singh D, Kumar S, et al. Genetic diversity and population structure analyses in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) based on agro-morphological and microsatellite markers. Plants. 2023;12(19):3512. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12193512
  18. 18. Rao PG, Behera TK, Gaikwad AB, Munshi AD, Srivastava A, Boopalakrishnan G, et al. Genetic analysis and QTL mapping of yield and fruit traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):4109. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83548-8
  19. 19. Chen ZJ. Genomic and epigenetic insights into the molecular bases of heterosis. Nat Rev Genet. 2013;14(7):471–82. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg3503
  20. 20. Bharathi LK, Munshi AD, Behera TK, Vinod, John KJ, Bhat KV, et al. Production and preliminary characterization of novel inter-specific hybrids derived from Momordica species. Curr Sci. 2012;103(2):178–86.
  21. 21. Bharathi LK, John KJ. Momordica genus in Asia-an overview. New Delhi: Springer; 2013. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1032-0
  22. 22. Singh P, Singh AK, Mishra D, Kumar R. Genetic magnitude of heterosis for yield and quality traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2020;9(3):2472–83. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.903.283
  23. 23. Paril J, Reif J, Fournier-Level A, Pourkheirandish M. Heterosis in crop improvement. Plant J. 2024;117(1):23–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.16488
  24. 24. Zhan J, Zhong J, Cheng J, Wang Y, Hu K. Map-based cloning of the APRR2 gene controlling green stigma in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia). Front Plant Sci. 2023;14:1128926. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1128926
  25. 25. Behera TK, Behera S, Bharathi LK, John KJ, Simon PW, Staub JE. Bitter gourd: botany, horticulture, breeding. Hortic Rev. 2010;37:101–41. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470543672.ch2
  26. 26. Rathod V, Behera TK, Munshi AD, Gaikwad AB, Singh S, Vinay ND, et al. Developing partial interspecific hybrids of Momordica charantia × Momordica balsamina and their advance generations. Sci Hortic. 2021;281:109985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.109985
  27. 27. Rathod V, Behera TK, Munshi AD, Jat GS, Vinod V, Gaikwad AB. Genetic analysis for yield and its attributes in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Indian J Agric Sci. 2021;91(1):68–73. https://doi.org/10.56093/ijas.v91i1.110928
  28. 28. Mallikarjuna KN, Tomar BS, Mangal M, Singh N, Singh D, Kumar S, et al. Qualitative and quantitative genetic variations in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Genet Resour Crop Evol. 2024;71(7):3745–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-024-01860-4
  29. 29. Thiruvengadam M, Praveen N, Kim EH, Kim SH, Chung IM. High-frequency plant regeneration from leaf explants of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Sci Hortic. 2012;134:198–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2011.11.020
  30. 30. Thangamani C, Pugalendhi L. Heterosis studies in bitter gourd for yield and related characters. Int J Veg Sci. 2013;19(2):109–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/19315260.2012.677115
  31. 31. Dey SS, Behera TK, Munshi AD, Bhatia R. Inheritance of fruit traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Sci Hortic. 2006;110(2):147–52.
  32. 32. Behera TK, Dey SS, Sirohi PS, Gaikwad AB. Heterosis and combining ability studies for yield and its components in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Indian J Agric Sci. 2010;80(12):1089–92.
  33. 33. Kundu BC, Mohsin GM, Rahman MS, Ahamed F, Mahato AK, Hossain KMD, et al. Combining ability analysis in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) for potential quality improvement. Braz J Biol. 2024;84:e255605.n https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.255605
  34. 34. Thangamani C, Pugalendhi L. Combining ability studies in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Madras Agric J. 2013;100(1-3):9–14. https://doi.org/10.29321/MAJ.10.001228
  35. 35. Vinay ND, Matsumura H, Munshi AD, Ellur RK, Chinnusamy V, Singh A, et al. Molecular mapping of genomic regions and identification of possible candidate genes associated with gynoecious sex expression in bitter gourd. Front Plant Sci. 2023;14:1071648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1071648
  36. 36. Laxuman T, Patil SS, Dharmatti PR, Revanappa. Heterosis studies in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Asian J Hortic. 2012;7(1):147–51.
  37. 37. Singh AK, Pan RS, Bhavana P. Heterosis and combining ability analysis in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Indian J Agric Sci. 2018;88(10):1533–8.
  38. 38. Singh B, Kumar M, Singh JP. Manifestation of heterosis for yield and its related traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Veg Sci. 2012;39(2):161–5.
  39. 39. Jadhav VB, More TA. Heterosis for yield and yield contributing characters in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Indian J Hortic. 2010;67(Special Issue):183–8.
  40. 40. Jatav V, Singh DK, Singh NK, Panchbhaiya A. Genetic variability and character association in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Bangladesh J Bot. 2022;51(1):1–7. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjb.v51i1.58813
  41. 41. Oladosu Y, Rafii MY, Abdullah N, Hussin G, Ramli A, Rahim HA, et al. Principle and application of plant mutagenesis in crop improvement: a review. Biotechnol Biotechnol Equip. 2016;30(1):1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13102818.2015.1087333
  42. 42. Mishra SP, Singh PK, Das SS, Panda AK. Induced mutagenesis in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench): a review. Int J Chem Stud. 2020;8(3):1526–31.
  43. 43. Shirasawa K, Ariizumi T. Tomato resources for the next generation of breeding: from mutation breeding to genome editing. Hortic J. 2023;92(1):1–11.
  44. 44. Wang Y, Wen C, Weng Y. Review of the genetic basis of fruit quality traits in cucumber. Sci Hortic. 2022;294:110747.
  45. 45. Suprasanna P, Mirajkar SJ, Bhagwat SG. Induced mutations and crop improvement: focus on haploidy, genomics and phenomics. Front Plant Sci. 2021;12:644383.
  46. 46. Ussuf KK, Nair PM. Effect of gamma irradiation on the indole acetic acid synthesizing system and its significance in sprout inhibition of potatoes. Radiat Bot. 1974;14(4):251–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0033-7560(74)80015-3
  47. 47. Arulbalachandran D, Mullainathan L, Velu S. Screening of high yielding mutants in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) induced by gamma rays. J Phytology. 2009;1(4):232–7.
  48. 48. Beyaz R. The stimulatory effects of low-dose gamma radiation on plant growth and development. In: Gamma radiation. London: IntechOpen; 2020. p. 1–15.
  49. 49. Tiwari AK. Studies on induced mutagenesis in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). PhD [dissertation]. New Delhi (India): Indian Agricultural Research Institute; 2016.
  50. 50. Dutta S, Hazra P, Saha S, Acharya B, Bhattacharjee T, Maurya PK, et al. Applied mutagenesis could improve economically important traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). J Genet. 2021;100:43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-021-01283-5
  51. 51. Vahab MA. Homeostatic analysis of components of genetic variance and inheritance of fruit colour, fruit shape and bitterness in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). PhD [dissertation]. Thrissur (India): Kerala Agricultural University; 1989.
  52. 52. Malik M, Kanwar K, Kanwar JS. In vitro regeneration of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) from various explants. J Plant Biochem Biotechnol. 2014;23(3):335–9.
  53. 53. Rathod VK, Behera TK, Munshi AD, Kumar D, Jat GS, Boopalakrishnan G, et al. Pollen viability and in vitro pollen germination studies in Momordica species and their intra and interspecific hybrids. Int J Chem Stud. 2018;6(6):32–40.
  54. 54. Mir RR, Kudapa H, Pramod S, Lewis RS. Editorial: biotechnological and genomic approaches for enhancing agronomic performance of crops. Front Genet. 2022;13:991630. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.991630
  55. 55. Bharathi LK, Munshi AD, Vinod, Chandrashekaran S, Behera TK, Das AB, et al. Cytotaxonomical analysis of Momordica L. (Cucurbitaceae) species of Indian occurrence. J Genet. 2011;90(1):121–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-011-0026-5
  56. 56. Sunny AM, Pradeepkumar T, Minimol JS, Mathew D, Kutty MS, Anitha P. Potential of gynoecious line in generating superior heterotic hybrids in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Indian J Plant Genet Resour. 2022;35(1):27–33. https://doi.org/10.5958/0976-1926.2022.00005.5
  57. 57. Bharathi LK, Singh HS, John KJ. A novel synthetic species of Momordica (M. × suboica Bharathi) with potential as a new vegetable crop. Curr Sci. 2014;106(6):865–9.
  58. 58. Behera TK, Dey SS, Munshi AD, Gaikwad AB, Pal A, Singh I. Sex inheritance and development of gynoecious hybrids in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Sci Hortic. 2009;120(1):130–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2008.09.006
  59. 59. Sendhil R, Nyika JM, Yadav S, Kumar A, Singh S, Sharma PK. Modernizing the bitter gourd value chain: insights from consumer and trader preferences. Indian J Agric Mark. 2020;34(2):45–58.
  60. 60. Naseena NB, Suhara SB. Characterization of intra-specific F1 hybrids of Momordica charantia L. based on morphology, cytology and palynology. Cytologia. 2012;77(3):301–10. https://doi.org/10.1508/cytologia.77.301
  61. 61. Rathod V, Behera TK, Munshi AD, Vinod V, Jat GS. Crossability studies among Momordica charantia var. charantia and Momordica charantia var. muricata. Indian J Agric Sci. 2019;89(11):1900–1905.
  62. 62. Lu Y, Zhu JK. Precise editing of plant genomes: prospects and challenges. J Genet Genomics. 2017;44(7):353–363.
  63. 63. Varshney RK, Roorkiwal M, Sorrells ME. Genomic selection for crop improvement: current status and future perspectives. Plant Biotechnol J. 2021;19(12):2233–47.
  64. 64. Varshney RK, Pandey MK, Bohra A, Singh VK, Thudi M, Saxena RK. Toward the sequence-based breeding in legumes in the post-genome sequencing era. Theor Appl Genet. 2019;132(3):797–816. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-018-3252-x
  65. 65. Liu X, Hu P, Huang M, Tang Y, Li Y, Li L, et al. Genetic engineering technologies for improving crop yield and quality. Agronomy. 2022;12(4):759. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040759
  66. 66. Chandran H, Meena M, Barupal T, Sharma K. Plant tissue culture as a perpetual source for production of industrially important bioactive compounds. Biotechnol Rep. 2020;26:e00450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2020.e00450
  67. 67. Rahman MM, Ali MS, Rahman MM. Influence of explant age and growth conditions on callus induction in bitter gourd. J Hortic For. 2021;13(2):45–53. https://doi.org/10.55002/mr.2.3.23
  68. 68. Behera TK, Dey SS, Sirohi PS. DBGy-201 and DBGy-202: two gynoecious lines in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) isolated from indigenous source. Indian J Genet Plant Breed. 2006;66(1):61–2.
  69. 69. Dey SS, Behera TK, Munshi AD, Pal A. Combining ability analysis in bitter gourd. Indian J Hortic. 2010;67(3):399–401.
  70. 70. Ram D, Kumar S, Singh M, Rai M, Kalloo G. Inheritance of gynoecism in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). J Hered. 2006;97(3):294–5. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esj028
  71. 71. Iwamoto Y, Ishida H. Genetic analysis of gynoecious sex expression in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). J Jpn Soc Hortic Sci. 2006;75(Suppl 2):211.
  72. 72. Ram D, Behera TK, Lakhanpal AK, Maurya IB. Identification of gynoecious lines in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Indian J Plant Genet Resour. 2002;15(1):81–2.
  73. 73. Yadav M, Chaudhary R, Singh DB. Heterosis in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). J Hortic Sci. 2009;4(2):170–3. https://doi.org/10.24154/jhs.v4i2.539
  74. 74. Iwamoto E, Hayashida S, Ishida T, Morita T. Breeding and seasonal adaptability of high-female F1 hybrid bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) 'Kumaken BP1' using gynoecious inbred line for the seed parent. Hortic Res. 2009;8(2):143–7. https://doi.org/10.2503/hrj.8.143
  75. 75. Matsumura H, Miyagi N, Taniai N, Fukushima M, Tarora K, Shudo A, et al. Mapping of the gynoecy in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) using RAD-seq analysis. PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e87138. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087138
  76. 76. Baluchamy N, Thayyil P, Veni K. Candidate gene based SSR and SNP markers for gynoecy in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Mol Biol Rep. 2022;49(12):11847–56.
  77. 77. Kujur A, Kar PP, Sahu GS. Induction of male flowers in gynoecious lines of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) through chemicals. J Pharmacogn Phytochem. 2021;10(1):1604–7.
  78. 78. Collins PJ, Wen Z, Zhang S. Marker-assisted breeding for disease resistance in crop plants. In: Biotechnologies of crop improvement. Volume 3: genomic approaches. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2018. p. 41–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94746-4_3
  79. 79. Dey SS, Singh AK, Chandel D, Behera TK. Genetic diversity of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) genotypes revealed by RAPD markers and agronomic traits. Sci Hortic. 2006;109(1):21–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2006.03.006
  80. 80. Peakall R, Smouse PE. GenAlEx 6: genetic analysis in Excel. Population genetic software for teaching and research. Mol Ecol Notes. 2006;6(1):288–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-8286.2005.01155.x
  81. 81. Milbourne D, Meyer R, Bradshaw JE, Baird E, Bryson N, Powell W, et al. Comparison of PCR-based marker systems for the analysis of genetic relationships in cultivated potato. Mol Breed. 1997;3(2):127–36. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009633005390
  82. 82. Triveni D, Uma Jyothi K, Dorajee Rao AVD. Analysis of combining ability and extent of heterosis for yield and its related traits in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Vegetos. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42535-024-01048-2
  83. 83. Chaudhary J, Deshmukh R, Sonah H. Mutagenesis approaches and their role in crop improvement. Plants. 2019;8(11):467. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8110467
  84. 84. Gaikwad AB, Behera TK, Singh AK, Staub JE, Joseph JK, Sinha S, et al. Molecular diversity analysis in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) using SSR markers. Plant Mol Biol Rep. 2017;35(1):51-64.
  85. 85. Behera TK, Bhardwaj DR, Gautam KK. Bitter gourd: breeding and genomics. Veg Sci. 2023;50(Spl 06):189–207. https://doi.org/10.61180/vegsci.2023.v50.spl.06
  86. 86. Gill T, Gill SK, Saini DK, Chopra Y, de Koff JP, Sandhu KS. A comprehensive review of high-throughput phenotyping and machine learning for plant stress phenotyping. Phenomics. 2022;2(3):156–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43657-022-00048-z
  87. 87. Kumar R, Das SP, Choudhury BU, Kumar A, Prakash NR, Verma R, et al. Advances in genomic tools for plant breeding: harnessing DNA molecular markers, genomic selection and genome editing. Biol Res. 2024;57:80. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40659-024-00562-6
  88. 88. Collard BCY, Mackill DJ. Marker-assisted selection: an approach for precision plant breeding in the twenty-first century. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008;363(1491):557–72. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2007.2170
  89. 89. Goulet BE, Roda F, Hopkins R. Hybridization in plants: old ideas, new techniques. Plant Physiol. 2017;173(1):65–78. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.01340
  90. 90. Escamilla DM, Li D, Negus KL, Kappelmann KL, Kusmec A, Vanous AE, et al. Genomic selection: essence, applications and prospects. Plant Genome. 2025;18(2):e70053. https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.70053
  91. 91. de Verdal H, Baertschi C, Frouin J, Quintero C, Ospina Y, Alvarez MF, et al. Optimization of multi-generation multi-location genomic prediction models for recurrent genomic selection in an upland rice population. Rice. 2023;16:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12284-023-00661-0
  92. 92. Obeng-Bio E, Badu-Apraku B, Ifie BE, Danquah A, Blay ET, Dadzie MA. Assessing inbred-hybrid relationships for developing drought-tolerant provitamin A-quality protein maize hybrids. Agron J. 2020;112(5):3549–66. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20344

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.