The present study aimed to investigate the interrelationships among yield and its component traits in 40 diverse genotypes of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) through correlation and path coefficient analysis under a randomized complete block design with three replications. Highly significant positive genotypic and phenotypic correlations were observed between fruit yield per vine and traits such as sex ratio (0.704) and (0.726), vine length (0.690) and (0.798), primary branch count per vine (0.604) and (0.638), fruit length (0.268) and (0.265), fruit girth (0.275) and (0.300), mean fruit weight (0.423) and (0.441), fruits per vine (0.730) and (0.753) number of seeds per fruit (0.261) and (0.267), suggesting their potential as selection indices for yield improvement. Path analysis revealed that fruits per vine (0.8122), mean fruit weight (0.5686), days to first appearance of female flower (0.1294), days to first picking (0.1268), total soluble solids (0.1138), primary branch count per vine (0.1116), vine length (0.0586), ascorbic acid content (0.0467) and node of first staminate flower emergence (0.0399) showed high magnitude of positive direct effect on fruit yield per vine. The findings suggest that direct selection based on key traits especially fruits per vine, mean fruit weight, and early flowering can effectively enhance yield in bitter gourd. The study concludes that integrating correlation and path analyses provides a robust framework for identifying yield-contributing traits and can significantly support breeding strategies aimed at yield optimization in bitter gourd.
Singh et al. (Tue,) studied this question.