Coimbatore Long (CO-1)
A TNAU (Coimbatore) karela with green fruit 30–35 cm long and 100–200 g each. The national checklist lists it as CO 1 at about 14 t/ha for Tamil Nadu. Grow it on a bower so the long fruit hangs straight.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Zaid / summer
- Maturity period
- First pick ~60–70 days
- Expected yield
- About 14 t/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance claimed
- Release
- Released by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Coimbatore Long (CO-1) is a bitter gourd from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The national checklist describes green fruit 30–35 cm long, each weighing 100–200 g, with an average yield of about 14 t/ha, for Tamil Nadu. It is favoured where the market pays for a long fruit. It should be grown on a bower so the long fruit hangs straight and clean. On the flat the fruit curls and lies in the damp.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Coimbatore Long if you farm in Tamil Nadu and your market pays more for a long karela of 30–35 cm and 100–200 g, and you can grow it on a bower. The checklist lists about 14 t/ha. Choose Arka Harit if your buyer wants smooth, thick-fleshed fruit. Choose Pusa Hybrid-1 or Pusa Hybrid-2 for the north, if you can pay for hybrid seed.
Sowing & cultivation
- SpacingGrow on a bower — the long fruit needs to hang free to stay straight and clean
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Long green fruit of 30–35 cm and 100–200 g
- Released by TNAU for Tamil Nadu conditions
- Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved
Things to consider
- Only worthwhile where the market pays for length; must be grown on a bower
- No special disease resistance — manage the melon fruit fly and mildews
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Tamil Nadu
Build the bower for the fruit, not just the vine
A fruit of 30–35 cm hangs down from the platform. Set the bower high enough that the tip of the fruit stays well clear of the ground and of the leaves below, or it will touch and mark.
Check the bower again after the first rain. Wet vines get heavy, and a sagging bower brings the fruit down into the wet.
Pick at the stage your buyer wants, every second or third day. Over-ripe karela turns orange and bitter-soft, and the long fruit is more likely to be damaged when it is left.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Bitter Gourd (Karela) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arka Harit | A thick-fleshed, few-seeded southern karela with glossy spindle-shaped fruit, from ICAR-IIHR | First pick ~60–65 days | About 12 t/ha | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
| Coimbatore Long (CO-1)this page | A long green TNAU karela of 30–35 cm for Tamil Nadu markets that pay for length | First pick ~60–70 days | About 14 t/ha | Tamil Nadu |
| Pusa Do Mausami | An open-pollinated karela for both summer and the rainy season, ready for first picking in about 55 days | First pick in about 55 days from sowing | No separate figure published | Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar |
| Pusa Hybrid-1 | An F1 karela with about 20 t/ha for the spring-summer crop near Delhi-NCR, suited to pickling and dehydration | First pick ~55–60 days | About 20 t/ha | Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh |
| Pusa Hybrid-2 | An F1 karela recommended for the widest set of states, with 19–20 t/ha, for pickling and dehydration | First pick ~55–60 days | 19–20 t/ha | Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi |
| Pusa Vishesh | A dwarf-vine open-pollinated karela for high-density planting and small plots, suited to pickling and dehydration | No separate figure published | No separate figure published | Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Bitter Gourd (Karela) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Bitter Gourd (Karela) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Bitter Gourd (Karela) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Bitter Gourd (Karela) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Bitter Gourd (Karela) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Bitter Gourd (Karela) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Bitter Gourd (Karela) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Coimbatore Long the same as CO 1?
The summary above lists Coimbatore Long as CO-1. The national checklist describes TNAU's CO 1 as green fruit, 30–35 cm long, 100–200 g each, at about 14 t/ha, which matches. Always check the name on the packet.
Why must Coimbatore Long be grown on a bower?
A 30–35 cm fruit lying on the ground curls, picks up rot from damp soil and gets a bad shape. Hanging from a bower it stays straight and clean, which is the quality the buyer pays for.
How much does Coimbatore Long yield?
About 14 t/ha, per the national checklist. That is higher than Arka Harit at 12 t/ha, but below the north-Indian hybrids at about 19–20 t/ha.
Can I save seed from Coimbatore Long?
Yes, it is open-pollinated. Keep the longest, straightest fruits for seed and let them ripen fully on the vine, away from other karela plots.
Can I grow Coimbatore Long outside Tamil Nadu?
The checklist recommends it for Tamil Nadu only. Elsewhere, sow a strip beside the local variety first and compare yield and market price before planting more.
Sourced from: Checklist of Commercial Varieties of Vegetables (capsicum, carrot, cucumber, bottle gourd, bitter gourd) — TNAU Agritech national bulletin. editorial policy.