author(s)
Dharvi P Madhani, KD Patel, Rutu Sadare and Kiran K Jakhotra

abstract
The experiment entitled “Response of GA₃, NAA, and Ethrel on Yield, Quality, and Economics of Ridge Gourd (Luffa acutangula L.) cv. GRG-2 (Gujarat Ridge Gourd-2)” was carried out during the summer season of 2024 at the Instructional Farm, Jambuvadi, Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, Junagadh Agricultural University (JAU), Junagadh, Gujarat. The study utilized the ridge gourd variety GRG-2, a high-yielding cultivar released by JAU, and was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with ten treatments and three replications. The treatments included three concentrations each of NAA (70, 85, and 100 ppm), GA₃ (30, 45, and 60 ppm), Ethrel (100, 150, and 200 ppm), and an untreated control. Foliar applications of plant growth regulators were administered at the critical 2-4 leaf stage. The results revealed significant differences among the treatments with respect to yield and its contributing traits. Among all treatments, the application of Ethrel at 200 ppm (T₉) emerged as the most effective, resulting in the highest fruit length (28.77 cm), fruit girth (11.56 cm), fruit weight (132.64 g), number of fruits per plant (22.46), fruit yield per plant (2.97 kg), fruit yield per plot (28.65 kg), and total yield (10.23 t/ha). In terms of economic returns, T9 also recorded the maximum gross return of ₹3,06,900 per hectare, net return of ₹1,85,415 per hectare, and a benefit-cost ratio of 2.54, indicating superior profitability. In contrast, the untreated control (T10) consistently recorded the lowest performance across all measured parameters. While numerical improvements in some quality attributes, such as total soluble solids and sugar content, were observed under Ethrel treatments, the differences were statistically non-significant, suggesting that the application of GA₃, NAA, and Ethrel had limited influence on the internal quality of the fruits. Overall, the study concludes that foliar application of Ethrel at 200 ppm during the early vegetative stage significantly enhances the yield and economic returns of ridge gourd cultivation without negatively affecting fruit quality.