Impact of the Blessing Energy Treatment on Morphological and Yield Attributes of Sponge Gourd (Luffa cylindrica)

Abstract

Background: Sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica) is an economically vital cucurbitaceous vegetable crop valued globally for its nutritional profile, dietary fiber, and traditional medicinal properties. However, fluctuating environmental factors and rising chemical input costs present persistent challenges to maximizing crop productivity. Consequently, exploring non-chemical, sustainable agricultural technologies capable of altering plant biophysical properties has gained momentum. Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the response of L. cylindrica morphological and yield-related attributes to a non-contact, intention-based Spiritual Blessing Energy Treatment (SBET). Methodology: The field experiment was executed utilising a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two distinct experimental cohorts: an untreated control sponge gourd group (CONSPGG) and a blessing/biofield energy-treated sponge gourd group (BTSPGG). High-purity L. cylindrica seeds and experimental land plot soils within the treated group were subjected to the SBET, while the control group remained entirely unexposed. Results: The vegetative growth traits such as vine length (40.63%, p ≤ 0.001), number of primary branches (47.66%, p ≤ 0.001), number of nodes (38.68%, p ≤ 0.001), internode length (38.40%, (p ≤ 0.001), and stem diameter (37.50%, p ≤ 0.001) were significantly increased in the BTSPGG compared to the CONSPGG. The leaf morphological trait like number of leaves per plant was significantly increased by (53.29%, p ≤ 0.001) in the BTSPGG compared to the CONSPGG. Reproductive and yield-attributing traits such as number of female flowers (41.46%, p = 0.002), peduncle length (33.47%, p ≤ 0.001), fruit weight (33.43%, p ≤ 0.001), and seed count per fruit (42.80%, p ≤ 0.001) were significantly increased in the BTSPGG than CONSPGG. Further, overall yield of sponge gourd in the BTSPGG was increased by 48.76% compared to the CPNSPGG. Conclusion: These findings suggest that SBET can positively impact the developmental pathways of sponge gourd, optimizing both growth vigour and reproductive capacity.