An experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2018 to find out the impact of sprout management on growth and yield of pointed gourd. Five pruning treatments viz. , retention of one sprout , retention of two sprouts , retention of three sprouts , retention of four sprouts and control(without pruning) were done in a local cv. of pointed gourd of Biswanath Chariali, Assam under field condition. The growth and yield attributing characters were significantly influenced by pruning treatments. Retention of three sprouts resulted maximum vine length ( cm and cm), intermodal length ( cm and cm), number of leaves per vine ( and ) and leaf area per vine ( cm2 and cm2 ) at 90 and 120 days after planting. Duration from fruit set to harvest (), days to first harvest () and total duration of the crop () was significantly less in plants with retention of one sprout. Highest yield per plant ( kg), yield per hectare ( ton), no. of female flowers per plant () and fruits per plant () was recorded in plants with three sprouts. Among the quality parameters, treatment with three sprouts recorded significantly higher vitamin A content ( IU) in fruits while ascorbic acid ( mg/100 g) was maximum in single sprout plants. | Impact of sprout management on growth, quality and yield of pointed Gourd (Trichosanthes dioica Roxb.)
