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Bottle gourd, a common vegetable in the human diet, has been valued for its medicinal and energetic properties. In this experiment, the time-resolved analysis of the changes in the proteins’ electrophoretic patterning of the seed development at different crossing periods was studied in bottle gourd using label-free quantitative proteomics. Hybrid HBGH-35 had the highest observed protein levels at the 4th week of the crossing period (F4) compared to the parental lines, viz. G-2 (M) and Pusa Naveen (F). The crossing period is significantly correlated with grain filling and reserve accumulation. The observed protein expression profile after storage was related to seed maturation and grain filling in bottle gourds. A total of 2517 proteins were identified in differentially treated bottle gourd fruits, and 372 proteins were differentially expressed between different crossing periods. Proteins related to carbohydrate and energy metabolism, anthocyanin biosynthesis, cell stress response, and fruit firmness were characterized and quantified. Some proteins were involved in the development, while others were engaged in desiccation and the early grain-filling stage. F4 was distinguished by an increase in the accumulation of low molecular weight proteins and enzymes such as amylase, a serine protease, and trypsin inhibitors. The seed vigor also followed similar patterns of differential expression of seed storage proteins. Our findings defined a new window during seed production, which showed that at F4, maximum photosynthetic assimilates accumulated, resulting in an enhanced source–sink relationship and improved seed production. Our study attempts to observe the protein expression profiling pattern under different crossing periods using label-free quantitative proteomics in bottle gourd. It will facilitate future detailed investigation of the protein associated with quality traits and the agronomic importance of bottle gourd through selective breeding programs.

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] and citron watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides (L.H. Bailey) Mansf. ex Greb.) are amongst the widely grown yet under-researched cucurbits genetic resources in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Fresh immature leaves, fruit and seed are used for food and medicinal purposes in the region. Furthermore, both species are used as rootstock and donors of novel genes for commercial production and breeding of sweet dessert watermelon cultivars. Despite their economic value and contribution to food and nutrition security in the region, bottle gourd and citron watermelon genetic resources remain under-utilized and largely un-explored for commercial product development. The objective of this review was to document the unique values of bottle gourd and citron watermelon for genetic improvement and development of value-added food and non-food products, and to highlight regional and global efforts on conservation, production, processing, commercialization and various enterprise development of these important indigenous species. The review discussed on the value of both crops as a rootstock to improve fruit yield and quality of cultivated watermelon. This is followed by important summaries on phenotypic and genetic variation of bottle gourd and citron watermelon genetic resources and implications for new cultivar design. Finally, the review highlighted value-added non-food and food-based products developed based on indigenous knowledge systems in SSA and availability and access to genetic resources of bottle gourd and citron watermelon for breeding, product design and deployment.

Bottle gourd is an important cucurbitaceous crop. The impact of 14 species from eight fungal genera on bottle gourd seeds was studied through in vitro tests. Bottle gourd seeds were inoculated with each isolate separately and subjected to various germination tests. Maximum germination inhibition was upto 69.3% due to Fusarium proliferatum. Inoculation of seeds with F. proliferatum significantly reduced the germination speed index to 2.69. The seedling vigour index I for seeds inoculated with F. proliferatum and F. incarnation-equiseti (species complex) was 860 and 861, respectively, significantly different from that of non-inoculated seeds having a vigour index of 1791. The seedling vigour index II of seeds inoculated with F. proliferatum was 1818, significantly lower than the control (4631), indicating that the F. proliferatum isolate was highly virulent among all the isolates. Amongst seven plant protectants evaluated for their efficacy as seed dressers against F. proliferatum, propioconazole (25% EC), copper oxychloride (50% WP) and Mancozeb (75% WP) were effective in reducing infection. Germination percentage was highest for seeds treated with the bioagent Trichoderma harzianum 1% WP.

Context: Psychosis is a mental disorder, which is characterized as the reducing association with certainty and conviction. Around 1-2% of the world's population suffers from psychosis. The people affected by psychosis have hallucinations, delusions, forgetfulness, abolition, and anhedonia. Currently existing most of the anti- psychotic medications express the adverse drug reactions. Thus for the management of psychosis, satisfactory and adequate remedies are not available. Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley (LS) (Cucurbitaceae) fruits, popularly known as “bottle gourd” (English) and “Lauki” (Hindi), exhibit numerous intrinsic therapeutic properties and actions. However limited scientific investigations have been performed to determine the neuroprotective potential of LS fruits. With this background, the present study was intended to investigate LS fruits for the assessment of anti-psychotic activity. Aims and Objectives: The rationale of this study was to evaluate the anti-psychotic activity of the phytocompound rich fractions of the methanolic extract of LS i.e., chloroform fraction of the methanolic extract (CFME), and acetone fraction of the methanolic extract (AFME) by using experimental models of cataleptic and stereotypic behavior in Swiss Albino mice. Materials and Methods: Haloperidol-induced catalepsy and apomorphine-induced stereotypy were the experimental screening tests performed for the assessment of anti-psychotic activity of the phytocompound rich fractions of methanolic extract of LS fruits at the doses of 100, 200, and 400mg/kg, p.o. in mice. Results: CFME and AFME, 100-400 mg/kg, significantly reduced cataleptic score and stereotypic behavior in mice, in dose-dependent manner. At doses of 200 and 400mg/ kg, AFME (P

Symptoms such as phyllody, reduced size of leaves and shortened internode length were observed in bitter gourd, while phyllody symptoms were recorded in bottle gourd crops cultivated in fields at Pune, Maharashtra, India. Symptomatic leaf petiole samples of both the crops were analysed for phytoplasma association by nested PCR which yielded ~1.2 kb amplicons using universal primers specific to phytoplasmas. BLASTn analysis of the amplicons revealed that the consensus sequences shared 99–100% identity with phytoplasmas belonging to 16SrVI group, allowing their identification as a ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ -related strain. Virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 16SrRNA encoding sequences classified the phytoplasmas into the 16SrVI-D subgroup. This is the first record of ‘clover proliferation’ phytoplasma subgroup D associated with bitter gourd and bottle gourd worldwide.

The edible seeds of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.] are rich in oils, proteins and minerals of high nutritional quality. They are highly prized in pan tropical regions where they constitute valuable resources for food and nutrition security. In this study, near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) was combined with chemometrics to assess the variability of seed chemical content of African cultivars for the selection of nutritional traits. Six hundred seeds of four accessions belonging to two cultivars were collected from the Ivory Coast (West Africa) and analysed. The NIR-HSI spectra collected on whole seeds in the 1100-2400 nm range revealed that the main absorption bands of the seed chemical content were associated with water, lipids and proteins. The absorbance values between seeds of the same accession in these spectral regions varied up to 1.8 folds. Among the two chemometric tools used, principal component analysis (PCA) did not separate the accessions while Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) discriminated the accessions with 87.33 % to 94.67 %, and the cultivars with 90 % to 92 % correct classification. Seed oils from bottle gourd are for instance rich in linoleic acid which is an essential fatty acid for human health. The non-destructive and qualitative determination of the content of single seeds was demonstrated in the study and provides the opportunity to select superior seeds for the improvement of key nutritional traits in bottle gourd. Lagenaria siceraria, near-infrared hyperspectral imaging, seed chemical content, PCA, PLS-DA, nutrition security

Cucurbits include the major vegetables group cultivated widely in India during summer and rainy seasons. Out of different cucurbitaceous crops grown, bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) occupies a highest place in human diet but prevalence of various mycoflora acts as a major limiting factor in deteriorating the crop qualitatively as well as quantitatively. In the present study, mycoflora associated with seeds and fruits of bottle gourd was isolated using different methods and characterized on the basis of colony colour, type of spore, spore size and spore shape. The identity was further confirmed through microbial identification services of CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International). The isolated fungal flora was enumerated on the basis of per cent isolation frequency of individual mycoflora. A total of fourteen fungal species belonging to eight genera were isolated with prevalence of Fusarium proliferatum as external as well as internal seed borne and Talaromyces pinophilus as external seed borne mycoflora. Amongst three methods used for seed mycoflora isolation, moist blotter paper method was found to be the best followed by deep freezing and agar plate methods, respectively.

The present investigation was carried out at the Department of Vegetable Science, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellayani, during 2019-2020 to study the performance of bottle gourd genotypes. Among the genotypes, the BG-3 recorded the lower most node to fruit production (13.7) and highest fruit set per cent (43.4%). BG-2 was earliest to first fruit harvest (57.8 days). IC 371745 recorded longer fruit length (68.8 cm) which was at par with IC 538142 (62.2 cm). Genotype IC417704 recorded maximum fruit diameter and flesh thickness (15.97 cm and 12.56 cm). Genotype IC 331101 recorded the lowest rind thickness (1.69 mm) and IC 536593 recorded the highest fruit weight (2.41 kg). Tvpm Local recorded highest number of fruits per vine (6) followed by Pant Lauki-4 (4.3). The highest fruit yield was recoeded in Tvpm Local (43.98 t ha-1) with crop duration of 129.4 days. The highest TSS and ascorbic acid content were noted in the BG-3 (2.5°B) and IC398545 (12.0 mg 100-1 g), respectively. Based on the mean yield performance of the genotypes and selection index score IC 536593, Tvpm Local and Pant lauki-4 were best performing genotypes.

The objective of the paper is to carry out the heat transfer analysis of novel designed hybrid active greenhouse solar dryer (HAGSD) attached with water-in-tube type evacuated collector. The experimentation is carried out to investigate the performance of dryer with and without evacuated tube collector (ETC) under active mode. Three high moisture seasonal crops namely tomato, ginger and bottle gourd have been dried inside the dryer for the two cases and also in open sun drying. Also the drying kinetic of crops has been fitted with ten drying rate models given by researchers. A new drying rate model is also obtained which gives a very close fit with experimental drying rate. The average values of convective heat transfer coefficients for dryer with ETC are 153%, 3.8% and 305.4% higher than the dryer without ETC for tomato, ginger and bottle gourd respectively. The drying time in case of dryer with ETC for tomato, ginger and bottle gourd is 9, 12 and 6 h respectively less than the dryer without ETC. The overall efficiency of the dryer for the three crops varies between 14.22 and 27.99% for dryer with ETC, while for dryer without ETC, it varies between 9.63 and 24.88%.

The experiment was conducted during Kharif season 2018 at Horticulture Research Centre, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology; Modipuram, Meerut (U.P.) assess the genetic diversity among fifteen genotypes of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.]. The genetic diversity analysis according to that the formation of five clusters suggesting the presence of wide genetic diversity. The clustering pattern showed that geographical diversity wasn't related to genetic diversity. The analysis of % contribution of assorted characters toward the expression of total genetic divergence showed that the Days to 50% flowering (14.48%) followed Days of fruit set (12.95%), Vine length (m) (11.67%), Number of fruits per plant (10.93%), Number of the primary branches (10.37%), Days to first fruit harvest (10.16%), Average fruit weight (g) (9.44%), Fruit diameter (cm) (6.63%) contributed maximum towards total genetic divergence. Based on the maximum genetic distance. It is advisable to attempt a crossing of the genotype from cluster II (GP-7) with the genotype of cluster I (GP-5), cluster IV (GP-2) and cluster III (GP-1), which may cause to the generation of a broad spectrum of favorable genetic variability for yield improvement in bottle gourd.

This present experiment was conducted in a Seed Testing laboratory, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding SHUATS, Allahabad, UP during 2021 with bottle gourd, in order to standardize the best method of invigoration of priming specific to bottle gourd. method of priming viz., halopriming were evaluated by screening a different range of durations and chemical concentrations viz., T0 – Unprimed seeds (control), T₁ - 50 ppm KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) for 12 hrs, T₂ - 50 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs, T₃-100 ppm KNO3 for 12 hrs, T₄- 100 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs, T₅-125 ppm KNO3 for 12 hrs, T₆- 125 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs. Treated seeds were placed in between germination paper and in sand at control condition where data was subjected to factorial experiment laid out in completely randomised design (CRD). In which it was found that 6th treatment 125 ppm KNO3 for 18 hrs., has the significant result as compared to all the treatments with the control, the highest germination %, seedling length, weight and vigor index I & II. This study showed that Seed priming with KNO3 found to increase the seed quality parameters. In the present study proved market price- effective and most economical method. This study helps to improve the quality and performance of seeds with the help of seed priming treatments which have effect on market price and economic, non-toxic, eco-friendly sources.

An investigation was carried out to study the performance of 28 hybrids of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria mol. stand) through diallel mating design excluding reciprocals. Observations were recorded on the traits, viz., number of primary branches per vine, days to 50% flowering, node number at which first female flower appears, days to initiation of first female flower, number of fruits per vine, days to first fruit harvest, fruit weight, fruit size, hundred seed weight, flesh thickness, vine length and fruit yield per vine besides quality traits such as moisture content and TSS content in the fruit. Among the 28 hybrids of bottle gourd studied, thecross ‘PSPL X Pusa Naveen excelled in yield per vine, followed by the crosses ‘DBG-5XPusa Naveen. Thus, first generation hybrids can be well-utilized for exploiting hybrid vigour to achieve improved quality.

Covid-19 has had a very massive impact on the lives of the people and the economy. This study attempted to look at the vegetable markets in Punjab for 14 weeks, from the first week of March to the second week of June 2020. The data were collected for four main vegetables of the Rabi crop, namely capsicum, bottle gourd, brinjal, and potato, for which the data was taken from the agmarknet website. A total of 115 mandis were covered, and the data for arrivals and prices were taken for this period. The results showed that leaving bottle gourd, the output for all the other three crops went down. In the case of bottle guard, the arrival went up by 10.6 percent, whereas for brinjal, it went down by 30.1 percent, capsicum by 16.5 percent, and potato by 44.4 percent. The weighted average for the price was taken to calculate the loss from the sales. It was noticed that in absolute terms, the loss was to the tune of 23.8 crores than the previous year. A look at the total traded volume for this period, and the loss came out to be around 23.5 percent of the losses have just come from these four crops. © 2021 The Society of Economics and Development, except certain content provided by third parties.

An experiment was carried out to analyze genetic variability for yield and its contributing characters in 35 bottle gourd genotypes in randomized block design with three replications to assess the nature and magnitude of association among yield and its contributing traits in bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). Results indicated that PCV and GCV were high (more than 20%), sex ratio for PCV was 34.19 % and GCV registered as 24.79 per cent, respectively. Moderate PCV (14.28,16.10) and GCV (13.78,13.43) were recorded for vine length and primary branches, respectively. The high genetic advance as per cent of mean along with high heritability was obtained for vine length (0.93%), fruit length (0.87%), fruit width (0.76%), primary branches (0.69%), fruits per vine (0.59 %), sex ratio (0.52%), fruit yield (0.44%), days to first female flower anthesis (0.42%), node at first female flower appears (0.41%), days to first harvest (0.40%), fruit thickness (0.37%), days to first male flower anthesis (0.37%), fruit weight (0.35%) and node at first male flower appears (0.20%).

The present investigation was carried out with the objective to study the combining ability of parents and hybrids for growth, earliness and yield parameters in bottle gourd. General combining ability effects of parents and sca effects of crosses were highly significant for the characters studied. The parents Bot.G-4, Bot.G-7 and Kolkata Collection are the good general combiners for fruit yield per vine. The line Bot.G-6-2 exhibited significant and maximum gca effects for vine length and number of branches. The line Kolkata Collection showed maximum and significant gca effects for days to first female flower, days to first harvest and sex ratio. Tester Samrat exhibited significant gca effects for vine length, number of branches, nodes up to first female flower, sex ratio and fruit yield per vine. Among crosses, the cross Bot.G-6-2 X Arka Bahar exhibited significant sca effects for vine length and fruit yield per vine. While the cross Bot.G-6-1 X Samrat showed significant sca effects for days to first female flowering and days to first harvest. The cross Bot.G-6 X Samrat exhibited maximum and significant sca effects for nodes up to first female flowering and sex ratio. It is evident that gca or sca effects in parents or hybrids were in desirable for some other traits. Therefore it is important to ascertain the status of parent or hybrid with respective to combining ability effects over a number of component characters.

In this study, the effects of different carrier agents like maltodextrin, whey protein isolate, and soy protein isolate on the laboratory preparation of spray-dried bottle gourd powder were studied...

Effectiveness of the Hydrocolloid Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) on Bottle Gourd Juice was investigated in this study. The influence of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on the colloidal stability of cloudy Bottle Gourd juice has been studied. Concentrations of CMC from 0.1–0.4% completely inhibited juice clarification. Juices with CMC were more stable.Characterization of rheology is important for clarification of the product and storage.Use of hydrocolloid was only to enhance viscosity and creating gel structure of juice.Temperatures ranging from 5-35ºC were used in carrying out the experiments . The purpose of this research was to study the clarification, quality improvement and shelf life of Bottle gourd juice.

To assess the prevalence and severity of bacterial leaf spot on bottle gourd and pumpkin, a survey was conducted in Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur districts of sub tropical zone of Himachal Pradesh, India during the years 2018 and 2019. Data were recorded in terms of disease severity and fruit rot incidence. The associated pathogen from bottle gourd and pumpkin was isolated on nutrient sodium chloride agar medium and identified on the basis of morphological, biochemical and pathogenicity tests on bottle gourd and pumpkin seedlings. Disease was found to be prevalent at all the locations surveyed exhibiting a mean disease severity from 24.70 to 87.55 and 5.30 to 52.92 per cent in bottle gourd and pumpkin, respectively. Fruits of bottle gourd were recorded to be affected badly exhibiting a mean fruit rot incidence of 10.23 to 95.32 to per cent, while, no fruit rot incidence was recorded in pumpkin fruits. The colonies of the isolated bacterium were mucoid, circular, smooth textured and yellow in colour having a diameter of 2-4 mm. The pathogen was found to be Gram–ve and tested positive for esculin hydrolysis as well as protein digestion test. During pathogenicity tests, incubation period of 2 and 4 days was recorded on bottle gourd and pumpkin, respectively. Based on these studies, the identity of the pathogen was confirmed to be Xanthomonas cucurbitae(ex Bryan) Vauterin et al.

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is an important food, medicinal, and utilitarian crop with a large pan-tropical distribution. Two morphologically different types in the siceraria subspecies are sufficiently different to be considered as varieties, but they are assigned into different taxonomic ranks. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of 95 different accessions from the Nangui Abrogoua University collection was used to confirm the varietal status in bottle gourd. This analysis produced 22 575 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Cluster analyses conducted with 2250 (9.96%) SNPs distinctly separated hard-shelled from soft-shelled types. Analysis of 23 SNPs located in 11 genes coding for traits that differentiate the two types of gourds revealed that genes in the soft-shelled types had about 21% fewer SNPs than genes within hard-shelled gourds, but the latter had more non-synonymous SNPs. Cluster analyses conducted with the 23 SNPs fitted well with the structure defined by the 2250 SNPs, suggesting the implication of these SNPs in the varietal differentiation of bottle gourd. These nucleotide changes along with the genetic relationships between the accessions provide molecular proof supporting the status of two varieties. To prevent the confusion inherent in the use of synonyms and homonyms in bottle gourd, we suggest the terms hard-shelled and soft-shelled to designate, respectively, the varieties used as utensils and those grown for their edible seeds.

The study was conducted to reveal various seedling production scenario on floating beds including environmental aspects associating seedling production. Data of various seeding production were collected from total 50 households (HHs) of two villages at Nazirpur Upazila in Pirojpur district of Bangladesh by a pre-tested survey questionnaire. The study showed that 68% farmers did seedling production for business purpose, and 30% as both own and business. During floating cultivation on beds about 50% farmers used their own producing seed and 26% from market. The farmers cultivated 21 different types of vegetables and spices seedlings where highest number of seedling was Bottle gourd (19.11%) followed by Papaya (13.82%) and Chili (12.60%). They used urea as a common fertilizer on floating bed which enriched by TSP (46%) and DAP (40%) during cultivation. It was observed that 32% farmers did seedling cultivation solely as own source of money while 26% got the help from NGOs. After end of the cultivation, 25% beds were sold as compost fertilizer for winter cultivation, 5% were used as own field and 17% farmers utilized the fertilizer as both business and own purpose. The study also revealed that, about 64% of respondent farmers were not suffered by any environmental complications. Adopting modern agrotechnology and minimization of initial cost through subsidy can make this traditional Vasoman Chas has a sustainable agricultural practice. SAARC J. Agri., 18(1): 239-250 (2020)

A study was conducted in bottle gourd to estimate the magnitude of heterosis for yield and its thirteen yield related components. Twenty one bottle gourd hybrids generated from 7 × 7 diallel cross (excluding reciprocals) along with their seven parents evaluated in a Randomized Block Design with three replication at at the Olericulture Division of Horticulture Research Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur, Bangladesh during 2018-19. Most of the crosses showed significant heterobeltiosis for earliness. The highest heterobeltiotic effect was observed in the cross P2XP7 and P4XP7. The best heterotic cross for fruit length was P4XP5. Maximum heterotic effect in respect of fruit number per plant was found in the cross P1XP6 and P4XP6. In terms of yield per plant the highest heterobeltiosis was shown by the crosses P3XP4, P3XP5, P4XP5 and P4XP7. In the overall analysis, both additive and non-additive gene actions were found important with predominance of the additive gene effects in the inheritance of bottle gourd.

This article addresses the technical and cost competitiveness of microfiltration and centrifugation to produce organic clarified bottle gourd juice. The microfiltration (MF) process was conducted for fresh and centrifuged juices and for transmembrane pressures ranging from 103.4 to 172.4 kPa. Pertinent flux decline was extensively analyzed to account for the extent of irreversible membrane fouling using resistances in series model, flux decline, and recovery ratios. Feed, centrifuged, and permeate juice samples were evaluated for nutritional content and physico-chemical parameters to affirm that MF of fresh juice is the best among all investigated cases. Compared with the centrifugation process, the MF process performed comparatively better in terms of cost competitiveness, juice clarity, microbial, and protein rejection. For a variation in juice production capacity of 110–10,000 L, the MF-based juice processing cost varied from 1.19 to 0.37 $/L, which accounts to 31.27–26.32% of fresh juice cost to infer upon promising performance of the low-cost ceramic membranes.

The bottle gourd is a common vegetable in India subcontinental. Osmotic dehydration increases the storage ability of fruits and vegetables making them available throughout the year. Dehydrated products also play a great role in processed foods of all kinds and the way to achieve high quality dehydrated products are desired. The combination of osmosis with solar drying has been put forward, mainly for tropical fruit. A 24-hour cycle has been suggested combining osmodehydration, performed during the night, solar drying during the day. The well washed bottle gourd fruits were then peeled off with help of stainless-steel hand peeler. Pieces of bottle gourd cubes (1cmx1cmx1cm) were then cut out using a ruler and knife. The salt solution with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% (w/w) concentration were prepared. Bottle gourd cubes were immersed in the osmotic reagents with a fruit to osmotic solution mass ratio of 10:1, 20:1 and 30:1 soaking experiments were conducted at 400C, 500C and 600C in a 500 mi capacity water bath. The osmotic dehydration was done for a period of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 h and replicated thrice. The dependent variable studied was moisture content after dehydration. Moisture content of sample was determined by standard air oven method (Ranganna, 1995). The minimum moisture content was 46.9% (wb) for samples osmotically dehydrated at 600C for 9 h at 30:1 fruit to osmotic solution at 25% concentration. The moisture content of bottle gourd cubes observed decreases with higher concentration, temperature and mass ratio. Solar drying characteristics of 9 h bottle gourd cubes at 600C are determined by solar tray dryer. During the process of solar drying of 9 h bottle gourds cubes, the air temperature inside the cabinet varies 44 to 810C. and relative humidity inside the chamber was measures 34 to 58 percent. The minimum value of final moisture content of osmo-solar dried bottle gourd cubes was 8.3% at 600C for sample of 10:1 mass ratio and maximum value of final moisture content was 24.4% of at 600C for 30:1 sample.

Osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables an effective method for preservation. The Bottle gourd (Legeneria siceraria) belongs to Cucurbitaceous family. Average composition of fresh bottle gourd is constituted by water (96.0%), carbohydrates (2.5%), fibre (0.6%), proteins (0.2%) and calcium (20mg). The bottle gourd is a common vegetable in India subcontinental. It is moderately perishable vegetable. In this report, efforts were made to analyze the effect of different concentration, temperature and mass ratio of fruit to osmotic solution on osmotic dehydration process of bottle gourd cubes. comparative study for different parameters variables (solid gain weight reduction, water loss) was also studies. Five concentration levels of salt solution were 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% (w/w) used in this study to compare the effect of the concentration of the osmotic agents on osmotic dehydration. Bottle gourd cubes were immersed in the osmotic reagents with a fruit to osmotic solution mass ratio of 10:1, 20:1 and 30:1 soaking experiment were conducted at 40, 50 and 600C in a 500 mi capacity water bath. The osmotic dehydration was done for a period of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 h and replicated thrice. Quality analysis of osmotically dehydrated bottle gourd cubes was done according to ISI (1971) and Ranganna (1991) with 9-point hedonic scale. The moisture content of bottle gourd cubes observed decreases with higher concentration, temperature and mass ratio. The weight reduction, water loss and solid gain were very fast during initial period of osmosis but equilibrium did reach even after 9h. The solid gain, water loss and weight reduction were observed higher for higher temperature, concentration and mass ratio of bottle gourd cubes. The sensory evaluation performed for the approximately central conditions processing parameters gave average scores of 7 or above.