Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(4): 88-96 88 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.904.012 Combining Ability Studies for Yield and Plant Characters in Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.) Diksha Mishra * , Anand Kumar Singh, Prateek Singh, Bajrang Kumar, Prachi Pattnaik and Akhilesh Kumar Pal 1 Department of Horticulture, Institute of Agricultural Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, Uttar Pradesh, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) having the chromosome number of 2n=2x=22, is a tropical and subtropical important commercial vegetable crop belonging to family Cucurbitaceae, genus Momordica. It has been used in various herbal medicine systems for a long time because of its disease preventing and health promoting phyto-chemical compounds like dietary fibres, minerals, vitamins, flavonoids and antioxidants. Its extracts traditionally used as vegetable insulin or “charantin” possess hypoglycemic and anti-diabetic properties that are useful in the treatment of diabetes International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 4 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The present investigation was carried out involving thirty hybrids which were derived by crossing ten lines with three testers. These hybrids were evaluated along with their parents in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The recorded data was subjected to Line × Tester analysis. The analysis of variance for combining ability revealed that the mean sum of squares due to parents and hybrids were highly significant for almost all the characters except for days required to 50% pistillate flowering, vine length, number of primary branches per plant and internodal length. The lines IC-085612, OBGCS-4 and Katehi were found to be good general combiners for earliness characters as well as for fruit yield. Among the hybrids, the crosses OBGCS-4 × Preethi, IC-085612 × Katheri, Katehi × Meghna and Jaunpuri Green × Meghna exhibited high SCA effects for earliness in flowering with first female at lowest node. These hybrids should be further evaluated and can be exploited for commercial cultivation. Keywords Combining ability, GCA, SCA, Earliness, Hybrids Accepted: 04 March 2020 Available Online: 10 April 2020 Article Info