Area and production

Area and production
    Bitter Gourd
    Scientific name : Momordica charantia L.
    Family : Cucurbitaceae
    Chromosome number :2n=22
    Origin : Tropical Asia (Eastern India and Southern China)
    Common names : Balsam pear, Bitter cucumber
  • It is widely grown in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and extensively grown in China, Japan, South-East Asia, tropical Africa and South America. At present , In India , it is grown in the area of 26004 ha with annual production 162196 tonnes. The cultivation of the crop is very lucrative especially in south India from where fruits are exported to Gulf and European countries. The annual import of bitter gourd in UK comes to 1000 tonnes. The area and production are fast increasing and some of the leading states in the country are Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The approximate area and production in India are given in Table 1.
    • Table 1. Area and production of bitter gourd.

    States

    Area (ha)

    Production (tonnes)

    Assam

    325

    5,798

    Gujarat

    500

    2,500

    Orissa

    5,230

    20,920

    Punjab

    2,000

    24,000

    Rajasthan

    219

    578

    Uttar Pradesh

    14,800

    1,08,400

    Maharashtra*

    12,054

    1,20,540

    Andhra Pradesh*

    7,759

    77,590

    Tamil Nadu*

    22,223

    2,22,330

    Kerala*

    10,000

    1,00,000
    Source: PDVR bulletin No. 1991; *Estimated value.
Last modified: Monday, 13 February 2012, 11:19 AM