How To Sprout Pumpkin Seeds

 

How To Sprout Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin or Red Gourd

Botanical Name    : Cucurbita moschata

Family                     : Cucurbitaceae

Chromosome No. : 2n = 24 

Custard apple has a prominent place among the pumpkin family vegetables. It is also known by the names Kashifal, red pumpkin, sweet pumpkin, red flowered pumpkin, Kushmand etc. Custard apple is being cultivated in India since ancient times. In northern India, there is a tradition of making its vegetable on occasions like marriage etc. Its ripe fruits can be kept for a long time at normal temperature. Vegetable is also made from its soft leaves and flowers. Its seeds are mixed with sugar and fed to people suffering from tapeworm. Sweet halwa is made from its ripe fruits. Pakodas are made by mixing its flowers in gram flour. The pulp of its fruits is tied on boils in the form of poultice.

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology Hyderabad has recently prepared pesticide from its seeds. A chemical called 'Kyamosin-2' is found in this pesticide. Which is poisonous for insects. Which can be used to control the caterpillar that eats the cotton bell, jassid on ladyfinger, aphids, gram caterpillar and sorghum pests. Custard apple leaves are also poisonous, the extract of rum from them can be used as pesticide.

History and Origin – Custard apple is considered to be Mexico and tropical America. There is evidence that Red Indians used it 2000 years before Christ. Its cultivation in Europe started in the 17th century. Custard apple plants are still found growing in wild state. Custard apple is grown all over India. It is cultivated alone or as a mixed crop. In northern India, it is specially grown with potatoes. It is also grown in home gardens.

Nutritive value – The food value of Custard apple is given in the table-

                                 

                                (Nutrition Value of Pumpkin per 100 gm)

Moisture                         : 92.60 g Fat                                   : 0.10 g Fiber                               : 0.70 g Protein                            : 1.40 g Minerals                         : 0.60 g Other Carbohydrates   : 4.60 g Magnesium                    : 14.00 mg Iron                                : 0.70 mg Potassium                      : 139.00 mg Sulfur                            : 16.00 mg Calories                        : 25.00 Calcium                       : 10.00 mg Phosphorus                 : 30.00 mg Sodium                       : 5.60 mg Copper                       : 0.20 mg Chlorine                     : 4.00 mg Thiamine                   : 0.06 mg Nicotinic Acid           : 0.50 mg Vitamins  'C'             : 2.00 mg Riboflavin                  : 0.04 mg Vitamin 'A'                : 84.00 IU

      How To Plant Pumpkin Seeds From A Pumpkin

Climate - Custard apple is a warm season vegetable, yet it is less affected by frost. However, Custard apple grows more in less hot and high humidity areas. For its successful production, 18-21°C temperature has been found to be the best. For its proper growth and development, 4 months of frost-free weather is essential.

Soil & Its Preparation - Custard apple can be grown in different types of soils, but sandy loam to loamy soil with proper drainage is considered ideal. It can also be grown in slightly acidic soil. The PH value of the soil is considered to be 5.5-6-8.

Land preparation is done in the same way as that of bottle gourd. Deep plowing should be done once with a soil turning plow and after this, the field should be prepared by running a harrow 3-4 times. The field should be leveled by running a pata (leveling board).

(A) Improved Varieties

Arka Suryamukhi – The life span of the plant is 112 days. Fruits are small, with an average weight of one kg, round, flat, orange in colour. There are white stripes on the fruits. Its pulp is solid and orange in colour, the pulp is fragrant and rich in vitamin C. Each vine bears 8 to 10 fruits. This variety is highly resistant to fruit fly. The yield is 335 quintals per hectare.

Arka Chandan – The life span of the plant is 115-130 days. The fruit is medium sized, round, with an average weight of 2.5-3.0 kg and is slightly pressed at both ends. The pulp is sweet, solid and has a very sweet smell. Each vine bears 2-3 fruits. It is rich in vitamin A. The yield is 325 quintals per hectare.

Coimbatore - 1 (Co-1) – This is a late variety which gets ready in 125 days. Fruits are globe shaped, medium large (7-8 kg) and attractive. 7 to 9 fruits grow on each vine. 280 quintals of yield is obtained per hectare.

Coimbatore -2 (Co-2) – The crop of this variety gets ready in 130-135 days. Its vine spreads less than Coimbatore 1. Fruits are medium sized (2 kg) and have orange coloured pulp. 200-225 quintals of yield is obtained per hectare.

Pusa Vishwas – Fruits get ripe within 115 to 120 days of sowing. Fruits are round and medium sized. The pulp is golden yellow. 300-400 quintals of yield is obtained per hectare.

Pusa Vikas – This variety is ready in 125 days. Fruits are round and small in size, whose average weight is 2.5 kg. This variety is suitable for home garden and commercial production. 300 quintals of yield is obtained per hectare.

Ambili – This is a spreading variety. Fruits are flat, round and green. The weight of each fruit is 6 kg and the pulp is 4.3 cm thick. 15-38 kg of yield is obtained from each plant.

I.I.H.R. 93-1-1-1 – This variety is ready in 130-135 days. The pulp of the fruits of this variety is orange in colour. The peel of the fruits is light brown in colour. On which there are less deep stripes. Fruits are medium sized (2-3 kg), round and have sticky ends.

How Do I Grow A Pumpkin

V.R.M. 5-10 – This variety has been developed by ICAR-New Delhi. Its pulp is dark orange in colour. This variety is resistant to Cucumber Green Mottle Virus and Downy Mildew.

C.M. 14 – Fruits are flat round, green in colour. Each fruit weighs 6 kg. This variety can be planted both in rainy and summer seasons.

Solan Badami – This is a prolific producer variety with medium sized fruits.

(B) Hybrid Variety

Pusa Hybrid – 1 – This is the first hybrid variety of Custard Apple. Its vine grows up to 4 meters in length. Its fruits are flat and weigh 4.5 kg. It starts bearing fruits in 120 days. The fruit is flat and weighs 4.5 kg. It gives 450 quintals of yield per hectare.

Latest Varieties

C.M. 350 (C.M. 50) – This variety is recommended to be grown in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala.

N.D.P.K. -24 (N.D.P.K. 24) – This variety is recommended to be grown in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi.

Azad Kaddu (Azad, Kaddu) – It is recommended to be grown in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Narendra Agrim

Narendra Amrit

Both these varieties are recommended to be grown in Uttar Pradesh.

(C) Imported Varieties

In India, varieties named Padhipan, Butternut, Preen Hubbard, Golden Hubbard, Golden Custard and Yellow Straight Neck are grown on a small scale.

    How Do I Plant Pumpkin

Manure and Fertilizers – According to Laske (1962), a 560 quintal Custard Apple crop takes 75 kg nitrogen, 80 kg phosphate and 30 kg calcium from one hectare of land. According to Chaudhary (1976), it has been found beneficial to give 500-600 quintal cow dung manure per hectare and then 50 kg nitrogen and 60 kg phosphate while preparing the land. It has been found beneficial to give 0.9 to 1.37 quintal ammonium sulphate in the circle around the plants during the initial growth of the plants. Sowing Sowing time – Custard Apple is sown in northern India in Zayed (January to March) and rainy season (June-July). In northern India, it is mostly sown in October-November along with potato crop. By sowing at this time, the vines remain dormant in winter and start growing with the arrival of spring season, whereas in South India it is sown in August and December-January. In mountainous areas, it is sown in April-May. On the banks of rivers, it is sown in December. Seed rate - 5-6 kg of seeds per hectare is sufficient.

Sowing from sprouts - Fill a tray with a mixture of compost manure and soil and plant the seeds at a depth of 2-2.5 cm and at a distance of 8 to 10 cm and irrigate lightly. Sprouts appear in the seeds within a week. Then you can plant these sprouts anywhere as per your convenience.

Method of Sowing - For summer sowing, pits are made at a distance of 75 cm from each other in rows made at a distance of 2.5 meters. For rainy season sowing, they are planted at a distance of 1.5 meters and distance between plants is 1.0-1.25 meters. At one place, 3-4 seeds are sown at a depth of 2.5-5.0 cm. When the seeds germinate, uproot the rest, leaving only healthy plants. Irrigation - Irrigation of Custard Apple depends on the season in which it is being grown. Summer crop should be irrigated at an interval of 5-6 days. Generally, rainy season crop does not require irrigation. If there is no rain for a long time, then irrigation should be done as per requirement. When it is grown on ridges along with potatoes or other crops, then the irrigation given to the main crop is sufficient.

How do You Grow A Pumpkin

Plant Protection Weed control - To get a good yield of Custard Apple, weeds should not be allowed to grow in the field. Weeding is required 2-3 times in summer crop and 3-4 times in rainy season crop. Weeding can be done with the help of hoe or spade. This will control the weeds, along with proper circulation of air in the soil, due to which both the development and growth of the plants are good.

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.

    How Do You Plant A Pumpkin

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.

Aphid (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. 

How To Sprout Pumpkin Seeds

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.

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 Custard apple fruits depends on market demand. Generally, green fruits are ready to be picked after 75-180 days of sowing seeds. Custard apple fruits are mostly picked only when ripe. Because unripe fruits cannot be stored for a long time. Yield - The yield of Custard apple depends on many things, among which fertility of the land, variety grown and care of the crop are important. Yield up to 250-400 quintals per hectare is obtained. Storage - Ripe fruits of Custard apple can be stored for 4-5 months. For storage, there should be 10-15°C grade temperature and 75% humidity. Seed Production – For pure seed production of Custard Apple, the distance between one variety and another should be kept at least 400 meters. So that cross-pollination from another variety does not take place. Undesirable plants should be removed in the initial stage itself. If even then some undesirable plants remain, they must be removed at the time of flowering. Weeds should be removed from the seed producing crop. Also, pest and disease control should be done. Fruits should be harvested when they are fully matured. After separating the seeds from the pulp and washing them with clean water, they should be dried thoroughly in the sun so that there is not more than 8 percent moisture left in the seeds. 2-3 quintals of seeds are obtained per hectare. Hybrid Seed Production – Hybrid seed production can be done easily and at low cost. For this, all the male flowers should be plucked before the female flowers open and the male plants should be allowed to grow along with the female flowers so that cross-pollination can take place. The ratio of male and female should be 1 : 3. The seeds of F-1 female lines can be extracted when the fruit is ripe. There should not be any open male flower in the female lines. F-1 seeds have two parental lines (male and female), which should be grown at a distance of 500 meters from other varieties of custard apple.