How To Plant Gourd
Bottle Gourd
Botanical Name : Lagenarian siceraria
Family : Cucurbitaceae
Chromosome No. : 2n = 22
Bottle gourd has a prominent place among vine vegetables. It is also known as pumpkin or ghiya. It is grown on a large scale in India. In India, its commercial cultivation is done in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
History and Origin - The birthplace of bottle gourd is considered to be North Africa from where it reached South America by sea waves, its remains have been found in caves 7000-5500 years old from BC in Mexico. Earlier, the dried shell of bottle gourd was used to fill wine or spirit, hence it is called Bottle Gourd. Its hard cover was also used to make water jugs, household utensils, musical instruments.
Nutritive Value - Apart from vegetables, sweets, raita, pickles, koftas, kheer etc. are made from the green fruits of bottle gourd. Many types of medicines are made from its leaves, stems and pulp. Bottle gourd has a cooling effect on the body. Being easily digestible, doctors advise patients to eat its vegetable. Its food value is shown in the table-
(Nutrition Value of Bottle Gourd per 100 gm)
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Moisture : 96.10 g Fat : 0.10 g Fibre : 0.60 g Protein : 0.20 g Minerals : 0.50 g Other Carbohydrates : 2.50 g Calcium : 20.00 mg Iron : 0.70 mg Potassium : 87.00 mg Thiamine : 0.03 mg Nicotinic Acid
: 0.20 mg Phosphorus : 10.00 mg Sodium : 1.80 mg Copper : 0.30 mg Riboflavin : 0.01 mg Vitamin C : 6.00 mg Sulphur : 10.00 mg Calories : 12.00
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How To Grow Bottle Gourd
Improved Varieties
Improved/hybrid varieties of bottle gourd are mentioned below-
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Long fruited |
Specifications
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A. Improved Varieties-
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1. Pusa Summer Prolific Long
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This variety is suitable for growing in both summer and rainy seasons.
Fruits are 40-50 cm long, yield is 150 quintals per hectare. |
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2.Hisar, Selection Long
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Fruits are green, soft, smooth and long. |
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3. Punjab Komal |
Fruits are long, grape-colored, storage capacity is high, tolerant to
cucumber mosaic virus, yield/ha 500 quintals
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4. Punjab Long
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Fruits are long, green, soft, suitable for Kharif crop, yield per
hectare 200 quintals |
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5. Pusa Naveen
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Suitable for growing in both seasons, fruits are 35 cm long, thickness
6-5 cm, weight of fruit is 850 grams, yield per hectare 274 quintals. |
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6. Rajendra Chamatkar
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Fruits are long, green, soft, suitable for Bihar and Jharkhand. |
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7. Kalyanpur Hari Lambi
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Fruits are long, green, suitable for growing in both summer and rainy
seasons. |
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8. NDVG-1
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Fruits are long, green, suitable for growing in summer. |
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9.Azad Harit |
Fruit long, green, resistant to wilt, suitable for growing in Uttar
Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
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10.Azad Nutan |
Early variety, fruit available 55-60 days after sowing, suitable for growing
in both summer and rainy seasons.
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11.Arka Bahar |
Fruit long, shiny and attractive. |
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B. Hybrid
Varieties-
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1.Pusa Meghdoot |
Fruit long, green, suitable for growing in both summer and rainy
seasons.
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2.Pusa Hybrid 3 |
Fruit long, green, suitable for growing in both summer and rainy
seasons, yield 470 quintal per hectare.
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3. NDVG-4 |
This is an early variety, fruit long and green.
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4. Azad Hybrid-1 |
Fruit long and green, suitable for growing in Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand.
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5.BPOG-1 |
Fruit, long and green, suitable for growing in the plains of northern
India.
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Round fruited
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A. Improved
Varieties-
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1.Pusa Sandesh |
Early variety, fruit, round, green, suitable for growing in both summer
and rainy seasons.
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2.Pusa Summer Prolific Round |
Fruits are round, smooth and green, suitable for growing in both summer
and rainy seasons.
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3.Punjab Gol |
Fruits are round, smooth, suitable for growing in northern India.
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4.Hisar Selection Gol |
Fruits are round, smooth and green, suitable for growing in rainy
season
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B. Hybrid
Varieties- |
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1.Pusa Manjari |
Fruits are round, medium, fruit weight 600 grams, for growing in spring/kharif season, yield per hectare in summer and kharif
is 29.8 and 32.8 tonnes respectively
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How To Grow Lauki
Climate - Hot and humid climate is required for the cultivation of bottle gourd. Temperature of 30-35°C during the day and 18-22°C at night is considered suitable for its growth and fruiting. Bottle gourd is absolutely unable to bear frost. Bottle gourd is grown in both summer and rainy seasons. Heavy rainfall and cloudy days help in the outbreak of diseases and pests.
Soil and Its Preparation - Bottle gourd is grown in different types of soils, but light loamy soil rich in organic matter with proper drainage is considered the best for its successful cultivation. However, land with neutral pH value is best for it. Land on the banks of rivers is also good for its successful production. It can also be cultivated in some acidic soils.
First ploughing should be done with a soil turning plough. After this, plough 2-3 times with a harrow or cultivator, and after every ploughing, be sure to apply a leveller. Manure and Fertilizers
Manure and fertilizers should be used on the basis of soil testing. If soil testing is not possible due to any reason, then in that case, the following quantity of manure and fertilizers should be used per hectare-
Farm Yard Manure - 100 quintals
Nitrogen - 60 kg
Phosphorus - 60 kg
Potash - 100 kg
Cow dung manure should be spread evenly in the soil 3 weeks before the final ploughing. A mixture of half the quantity of nitrogen, full quantity of phosphorus and potash should be made and put in the soil at the time of final ploughing. The remaining quantity of nitrogen should be divided into two equal parts and given in two doses. First, when 4-5 leaves appear on the plants and second, when flowers start appearing. This should be given around the plants as top dressing. By doing this, we get high quality produce.
Sowing - In the plains of India, gourd is sown in both summer and rainy seasons. Summer crop is sown in February-March and rainy season crop is sown in January-July.
Seed Rate - 40-60 kg of seed is sufficient for summer crop and 30-40 kg of seed per hectare is sufficient for rainy season crop.
Seed Treatment - To protect the crop from fungal diseases, the seeds should be treated with Agrosan GN (2 grams of medicine per 1 kg of seed) before sowing.
How To Grow Lauki Plant
Method of Sowing - Bottle gourd is sown in the following two ways-
(1) Sowing in furrows- Since summer crops require more water, sowing of the crop should be done in furrows at this time. In this method, furrows about one meter wide are made at a distance of 3 meters and seeds are sown in the furrows on both sides of these furrows keeping the distance between the two furrows as one meter. 4-5 seeds are sown in one furrow.
For the summer crop, before sowing the seeds are soaked, wrapped in a wet cloth and germinated by keeping them in a warm place. By doing this, the crop gets ready a little early.
For the early crop, seeds can also be grown in polythene bags of 15 cm diameter and 15 cm height. Fill these bags with equal mixture of cow dung manure and soil, approximately 3 kg of mixture per bag. Sow 4-5 seeds in each bag. Proper temperature is required for proper germination. For this, the bags are kept in sunlight during the day and in a room or under a thatched roof at night. Even after the seeds germinate, the plants should be looked after in the same way in the bags until the threat of frost is over. After the threat of frost is over, these plants are planted in trays at a distance of one meter in rows made at a distance of 3 meters. For planting the plants, the bags are separated by making a careful incision so that there is no hindrance in the development of the roots. Keep in mind that the earth ball should not break while removing the polythene.
(2) Sowing in a flat field - Generally, the rainy season crop is sown in small trays in rows at a distance of 3 meters in a flat field. The distance between the trays is kept at 1.5 meters.
In December, in the floodplains of the rivers, the seeds of bottle gourd are sown. These drains are 1 meter deep and 60 cm wide. While digging the drains, half of the sand on top of the drain is removed to one side and a heap is made. The remaining half of the sand is dug and mixed with cow dung manure and filled to a depth of about 30 cm. In these drains, small basins are made at a distance of 1.5 meters and 4-5 seeds are sown in each basin. Here also the distance between two drains is kept 3 meters. To protect from frost, fences are made in the north-west direction with the help of the same sand on the banks of the drains. This provides adequate heat for the germination of the seeds and also protects the small plants grown from frost. By this method, an early crop of bottle gourd is obtained, which gets a good market price.
How To Plant Bottle Gourd
Irrigation and Drainage
Irrigation of gourd crop depends on the season in which it is being grown. Summer crop requires more irrigation. Irrigation should be done at an interval of 7-10 days as per requirement. Rainy season crop usually does not require irrigation. If there is no rain for a long period, then irrigation should be done as per requirement.
Excess water should not be allowed to collect in the field during rainy season, otherwise the plants dry up. Therefore, immediate arrangement should be made to drain out the excess water.
Providing support to the crop
To get abundant yield and healthy fruits of gourd, it is very important to provide support to the rainy season crop, whereas farmers do not pay any attention to this. For this, a roof is made by tying bamboo strips with rope and the vines are made to climb on it, by doing this the gourd fruits are saved from coming in contact with the ground and are saved from getting spoiled. In this way, healthy fruits are obtained and more yield is also obtained. In summer, the crop is usually spread on the ground.
Use of Plant Regulators and Chemicals – In the gourd crop, male and female flowers emerge on the same plant. Experiments have shown that if a solution of tri-iodobenzoic acid 50 ppm or malic hydrazide 50 ppm (2.5 grams of medicine per 50 liters of water) is sprayed at the stage of 2 or 4 leaves of the vine, then the number of female flowers increases and the yield is also higher.
Note – To make a solution of malic hydrazite, first mix it in hot water and then mix it in full quantity. Add any one of the stickiness-inducing substances like Selvate, Tritran, Tune 20 etc. to this solution.
Spraying a solution of 30 ppm boron and 20 ppm calcium also increases the yield.
Plant Protection
Weed Control - To get a good yield of bottle gourd, it is very important that the field is free from weeds. For this, weeding should be done 2-3 and 3-4 times in summer and rainy season crops respectively. Keep in mind that do not do deep weeding of bottle gourd because bottle gourd is a crop with shallow roots. Otherwise the roots of the plants will get cut. Weeding eliminates weeds, along with this, air circulation takes place in the soil. Growth and development of plants is also good and ultimately the yield is also high.
How To Grow Gourd
Insect Control
The major insects that attack the gourd crop and their control measures are mentioned below-
Red Pumpkin Beetle - It is a shiny red insect, 7 mm long and 2.5 mm wide, its body is covered with red coloured hard wings. There are thin black hairs on the lower surface of the body. Its small insects eat the soft leaves of the plants and destroy them completely. Due to which the development and growth of the plants stops. Its adults cause a lot of damage to the crop. Its caterpillar also causes damage to some extent. Due to the attack of this insect, the leaves become sieve-like.
The following measures should be taken to prevent this insect-
- These insects remain lethargic before sunrise, so at that time they should be caught by hand and killed.
- Quinalphos/ Chlorpyrifos (0.05 percent) should be sprayed on the plants.
Fruit fly - It lays eggs under the skin of the fruit. From which the caterpillars come out and enter the pulp due to which the fruits rot and fall on the ground. The number of this insect decreases a lot in the dry season. But its number increases in the rainy season. At the place where the fly lays eggs, small marks are visible which are covered with a glue-like substance. Before laying eggs, the female makes holes in the fruit several times due to which the juice comes out on the fruit. The fruits infested with the pest either get deformed or look normal from the outside. The adult fly does not cause any direct damage.
The following measures should be taken to prevent this pest-
- The fruits infested with the pest should be plucked and destroyed.
- Malathion (0.03 percent) solution should be sprayed in the initial stage of the fruits so that its caterpillars die.
- Poison baits should be used for the adult fly. For its preparation, Fenthion (0.05%) + 5% sugar syrup is mixed and sprayed.
Epilachana beetle - Both the larvae and adults of this beetle eat the leaves of plants. All its stages from egg to adult are spent on plants only, hence their control is easy.
- This insect can be controlled by spraying 0.05% solution of Chloropyrifos on plants.
Champa (Aphis grassypi and Aphis malve) - This insect sucks the juice of the soft parts of the plant. Due to which the vigour of the plant is adversely affected. This insect also helps in spreading viral diseases.
To control this insect, 0.05% Monocrotophos should be sprayed.
Disease Control
Downy Mildew - This disease is caused by a fungus named Pseudo peronospora cubensis. Due to this disease, yellow spots appear on the upper part of the leaves while the color of the spots on the lower part is purple. The following measures should be taken to prevent this disease -
- During the initial growth period of the crop, Mancozeb (0.25 percent) should be sprayed at an interval of 10 days.
- Keep the crop free from weeds.
- Adopt proper crop rotation.
How To Plant Gourd
Powdery Mildew - This disease is caused by a fungus named Erysiphe cichoracearum. Due to this disease, white spots appear on the lower surface of old leaves. Gradually the number and size of these spots increase and later powdery growth appears on both sides of the leaves. Normal growth of the leaves stops and they turn yellow and the plant dies.
The following measures should be taken to control this disease -
- The diseased plants should be uprooted and burnt.
- 3 kg of soluble sulphur like Ilosal or Sulphax should be dissolved in 1000 litres of water and sprayed.
Picking of fruits - Picking of fruits depends on the varieties grown. Special care is required while plucking fruits. Its fruits should be plucked in their soft state. Otherwise, in their hard state, they are not edible. Pick the fruit when its peel is soft, shiny and hairy and the seeds are also raw.
Yield - The yield of bottle gourd depends on many factors, the main ones being the fertility of the soil, the variety grown and the care of the crop. About 150-200 quintals of fruits are obtained per hectare. A yield of 400-450 quintals can easily be obtained from varieties called Pusa Hybrid-3 and Arka Bahar.
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