Doan H. Giang, V.К. Тоkhtar?

The genus Momordica L. belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. It includes about 40 species, which grow mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Species of the genus Momordica are economically valuable because they are used in medicine and pharmacy. In Russia, these plants are quite exotic, even though they have a wide range of well-known gardeners. Data on the study of these perspective plants in the European part of Russia has not been found. In the Belgorod region, this study was the first. The objects of the study were three samples of Momordica, obtained from different habitats (Belgorod-Russia, Vietnam and Germany). Seeds of all samples were planted in greenhouses April 13, 2010. Plants were carried out in the open ground by May 17, when the soil temperature at a depth of 0.5 m rose to 20 ºС. The study found that the development of M. balsamina is characterized by an early start (from seed germination to start branching), but the late timing of entry into the generative phase (appearance of flowers and fruits). Flowering and fruiting in M. balsamina begin on 84th and 91th day after seeding, while in M. charantia these developmental stages were noted already in the 69th and 81st day. Both studied species of the genus Momordica were characterized by rapid growth during the phase of the branch before flowering. The absolute increase of major axis is 7.2 and 4.1 cm per day, respectively in M. charantia and M. balsamina.