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| Ana Sayfaya Dönüţ |
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Bela Berenyi, Csilla Kleinheincz Szent István University, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences in Gödöllo Department of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture H-2103 Gödöllo, P.O.Box 303. HUNGARY ABSTRACT The Momordica charantia L. is nowadays a significant vegetable and herb in the South-Asian countries. The authors have examined the possibilities of the growing of the bitter gourd under the climatic and soil conditions of Gödöllo. In the test the authors determined the sowing time and the methods of cultivation and harvesting of the bitter gourd, an alternative vegetable. INTRODUCTION Pálvölgyi-Szedák (1996) have summarised the expected effects of climatic change in Hungary by the year 2030. Their conclusions are the following: the warming up in the period between April-September won't be higher than 3 °C and the probability, that it will be less than 1.2 °C, is 50%. This means 10-40% less clouds in the summer, and 30-90 mm less rainfall in the summer period, causing a higher frequency and degree of droughts. The warming up in winter will be 0.2-5 °C with a probability of 90%, most likely it will be 0.6-3.4 °C. They assumed that the rainfall in the winter period will be higher, and it will fall as rain due to milder climates. The humidity of the soil will not increase as the evaporation in the warmer period between October and March will compensate the effect of the increased rainfall. The length and phase of seasons will change significantly;the short spring with unsettled weather will be followed by a longer summer period, with only slightly higher mean temperature than it is today. Autumn will begin later and last longer with an "Indian summer", and the mild winter will frost from January until March. The climate will be "Mediterranised" and similar to the cities of Belgrade and Ljubljana. This assumption was revised by Mátyás (1996) who compared the future climate of Hungary to the steppe climate of the Anatolian Highlands as the continental character dominates both areas being surrounded by chains of high mountains. In the south-part of Hungary where climate is mainly continental with mediterranean influence in historical time fig (Ficus carica L.) and pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) were introduced. In 1980 the ground nut (Arachis hypogea L.) chick pea (Cicer arietinum L.) lady finger or bahmia (Abelmochus esculentus (L) Moech) kiwi fruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch and A. arguta Miq.) were newly introduced for mass production in Hungary. In 1983 for decoration banana was introduced and propagated with the method of meristeme propagation by Mericlon on the base of the suggestion of the author. Since the climate of Hungary is changing the introduction of new vegetable varieties that take advantage of the warm and dry conditions is advisable. The production of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) could cover the demand of the neighbouring countries, mainly Austria and Germany. MATERIAL AND METHODS Most relevant information were established on the fields tests at the Experimental Station of Horticulture of the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences in Gödöllo Szent István University. The experimental site had a brown forest soil with a mechanical composition of adobe and sand. Its ability to retain water was (FC%) 22-23 vol.% in the ploughed layer and 13-15 vol.% in deeper layers. The value of useful water content decreases with depth from 15-16 vol.% to 8-10 vol.% (l. Helyes and Gy. Varga, 1990). The average precipitation is 564 mm a year. Bitter gourd is sown in the Spring but it also can be planted. It may be planted on the tropics in the Autumn. The time of planting affects the appearance of male and female flowers through the changes in the length of the day. The vegetation period is between 2-4 months. Bitter gourd can be grown either on trellis or without it. On the experimental site a 170 cm high trellis was used. Seedlings were planted 50 cm from each other. Seeds were sown in two groups, on 9th of June, 1999 and on 5th of July. Germination occurred after five days. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Bitter gourd is an important vegetable in several countries. The fruit is cut into pieces before cooking and soaked in water to wash out the bitter components. The young sprouts and leaves are also used. The fruit is rich in vitamins, it contains mainly A B1, B2 and C-vitamin, the latter can be even 100 mg in 100 g of fruit. The fruit also contains several minerals (Ca 137.69 mg/100 g fresh fruit, Mg 119.92 mg/100g) (Yuwai, Rao, Kaluwin, Jones and Rivett, 1991). It is thought to be a good iron source but the iron content is only due to the high iron content of the tropical soils. The levels of trace minerals are low (Cu 3.54 mg/100g, Fe 5.97 mg/100g, Zn 3.53 mg/100g). The fruit contains 93.2 % water. Fatty acids give 0.76 % of the dry matter with a-eleostearic as the leading fatty acid in bitter gourd. The amino-acid analysis of the bitter gourd has shown that the fruit contains almost every essential amino-acid in the right proportion except lysine, cystine and methionine. As a herb it can be used in different forms. The root has a contractive effect, the fruit is used as a remedy for catarrh, flux and cough. The juice is drunk as a remedy for chronic colitis and bacillary dysentery (Perry, 1980). The fruit reduces the blood-sugar level. The plants were given additional irrigation but they seemed to endure the effects of drought as well. The flowering was not disturbed by the drought. The plants were grown without additional fertiliser. Twice hoeing was necessary against the weeds. Only aphids appeared at the end of the vegetation period, but it seems likely that in case of production on larger areas other pests and diseases may appear. Although cold reduced the growing rate of the fruits, the plant itself endured cool conditions until the beginning of October, no chronic changes could be seen on the leaves. However, it should not be left on the field in October because it will be blighted by frost. Results of the study are ; 1. The flowering and fruit-growing of the plant was not affected by the length of the day, therefore production in polyethylene or glass greenhouse is possible in Hungary. 2. The rate and appearance of male and female flowers should be examined further, and the effect of pruning on the yield should be experimented. 3. From this year on hybrids will be tested. In the future the authors are planning to modify the cultivation methods of the bitter gourd to make the production more economical in Hungary.  REFERENCES Abusaleha, Dutta O.P.(1994): Performance of bittergourd (Momordica charantia L.) under different training systems. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 64/7 479-481 pp. Berényi, Béla(1998): Introduction of new species of plants to Hungarian Agriculture. Published in International Symposium on arid region soil.Turkey 654-660. Hodossi, S.(1983): Fontos trópusi kabakos zöldségnövény a chayote és a keserutök. Kertgazdaság. XV/2. 33-36. Kuri E Yuwai, Koyyalamudi Sundar Rao, Chalapan Kaluwin, Gwyn P.Jones, Donald E. Riwett(1991): Chemical Composition of Momordica charantia L. Fruits. J. Agric. Food Chem. 39: 1762-1763. S.Mendlinger, S. Huyskens, A. Benzioni, M. Ventura(1992): Optimization of agrotechniques for cultivating Momordica charantia L. (karela). Journal of Horticultural Science 67/2: 259-264. Rasco O. A., Castillo S. P.(1990): Flowering patterns and vine pruning effects in bittergourd (Momordica charantia L. L.) varieties „Sta. Rita" and „Makiling".The Philippine Agriculturist. 73/3-4: 311-322. Varga, Gy., Helyes, L., Dimény, J., Somos, A. (1996): The marks of drought on different vegetable crops under the Hungarian ecological conditions. 1st Egypt-Hung. Hort. Conf. 2. |