~ 2018 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2019; 8(1): 2018-2023 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2019; 8(1): 2018-2023 Received: 17-11-2018 Accepted: 21-12-2018 Donal Bhattacharjee Department of Post-Harvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Payel Panja Department of Post-Harvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Rabi Shankar Dhua Department of Post-Harvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Correspondence Donal Bhattacharjee Department of Post-Harvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India Effect of plant growth regulators and plastic films on the shelf life of bitter gourd ( Momordica charantia L.) fruits Donal Bhattacharjee, Payel Panja and Rabi Shankar Dhua Abstract A study was undertaken to envisage the effect of plant growth regulators viz. Benzyl adenine (BA) and Gibberellic acid (GA3) (25 and 50 ppm respectively) packed in LDPE, HDPE and PP 50μ bags on post- harvest quality and shelf life of bitter gourd fruits and stored at ambient room temperature (27.4-32.3°C and 70-81% RH). There were seven treatments, replicated thrice and experiment was laid out in completely randomized design. The sensory score was maximum in BA 50 ppm treated fruits packed in PP bags. The fruits packed in PP bags and treated with BA 50 ppm recorded lesser weight loss in storage compared to control among three plastic films. Amid two growth regulators, BA 50 ppm documented lowest (2.53 %) spoilage in storage. By the end of storage, maximum DRI in fruits was recorded in BA 50 ppm (85.43) followed by minimum in control. Among the three plastic films, PP bags recorded high DRI values (85.43) followed by LDPE and HDPE respectively. Significant differences in chlorophyll contents were found in BA treated fruits compared to GA3 and control. Among three plastic films, PP polybags helped to retain better storage properties. Hence, it was concluded that bitter gourd fruits treated with 50 ppm Benzyl adenine and packed in 50μ PP bags can preserve the major post harvest attributes. Keywords: Benzyl adenine, bitter gourd, gibberellic acid, plastic films, storage Introduction India is the second largest country globally in respect of production of vegetables, next only to China. In spite of such huge area and production, about 20 to 30% of the produce is lost annually due to lack of adequate infrastructure and less use of modern post harvest technologies. Such post harvest losses of vegetables increases many fold during rainy season, which is a matter of grave concern for India’s horticulture sector. Being perishable in nature, vegetables deteriorate in the presence of air and lose their freshness due to continuous respiration, metabolic processes that continue even after harvest, microbial decay and inadequate post harvest management practices. Since, the quality of vegetables remains best at harvest and cannot be improved after it so maintenance of the quality is necessary especially when it is not meant to be consumed soon after harvest. So, it is essential to minimize post harvest damage to fresh produce in order to obtain optimal shelf-life. The use of suitable packaging is vital in this respect (Thompson, 1996) [1]. Modified atmosphere (MA) storage is a well-proven technology for preserving natural quality of vegetables in addition to extending the storage life (Jayas and Jeyamkondan, 2002) [2] . MA packaging of fresh vegetables refers to the technique of sealing actively respiring produce in polymeric film packages to modify the O2 and CO2 levels within the package atmosphere. It is often desirable to generate an atmosphere low in O2 and/or high in CO2 to influence the metabolism of the product being packaged, improves moisture retention or the activity of decay-causing organisms to increase storability and /or shelf life. In addition, MA technology can be applied to prevent browning, retard enzyme activity, protect colour of green vegetables and to inhibit microbial growth. It also reduces incidence of chilling injury (Rivera et al., 2005) [3] . Post-harvest treatment of fruits and vegetables with various plant growth regulators has been used to delay the ripening to reduce losses and to improve and maintain the colour and quality by slowing down the metabolic activities of the produce which results in increased shelf life and marketability for a longer time. Growth regulators are an integral component of vegetable production. These regulators can be used as post harvest treatments for the vegetables to increase various physical and biochemical properties so as to enhance its keeping quality. Generally, gibberellic acid is known for its anti-senescing properties which results in delaying ripening of fruits (Tsomu et al., 2015) [4] . The fruits keep firmer when treated with gibberellic acid. On the other hand, the cytokinins are derivatives of N 6 -substituted adenine which have been used, both natural and synthetic form, to affect plant growth.