Production Technology of Bottlegourd

production technology of bottle gourd.

1. . Production Technology of Bottle gourd MANOJ.G.S. 2019HT/17M Msc ( Horti ), 1 st sem. VNMKV, Parbhani .

2. BOTTLE GOURD

3. Introduction and importance: Bottle gourd is commonly grown vegetable in india . It is commonly grown in Ethiopia, Africa and central America and other warmer regions . The fruits of bottle gourd can be used to make sweets like halva, kheer, pedha , burfi and pickles. As a vegetable it is easily digestible, even for patients. Leaf decoction is made and it is good for jaundice . The fruit have cooling effect and it is cardio tonic and diuretic . The pulp is good for overcoming constipation , cough , night blindness and antidote for against some poisons . Fruits are variable in shape and size, they are 15- 100 cm long and light greenish in color. Tender fruits are widely used as vegetables, hard dried shell is used for making bowls, bottles, containers, pipes and musical instruments. Seeds and seed oil is edible and suited for dry areas. Kofta is most popular preparations, fruits contain 0.2% protein, 2.9% carbohydrates, 0.5% fat 11mg vitamin C per 100g fresh weight. It is good for people suffering from indigestion.

4. BOTTLE GOURD • B.N. – Lagenaria siceraria • Family – Cucurbitaceae • Monoecious ; DNP • Isolation distance – F – 800 m , C – 400 m • chromosome number : 2n = 22 • Origin – S. Africa • Bottle gourd or calabash is a delicately flavored, cucurbita family vegetable. It is one of the chief culinary vegetables in many tropical and temperate regions around the world. Bottle gourd is a fast growing, annual climber (vine) that requires adequate sunlight for flowering and fruiting.

5. It can be grown under wide range of soils and require trellis to support spread. Its intensely branched stems bear musky, deep green, broad leaves just similar as that in pumpkins, and white , monoecious flowers in the summer . After about 75 days from the plantation, young, tender, edible fruits evolve that will be ready for harvesting . Bottle gourds come in wide range of shapes and sizes. The fruit features oval, pear shaped or elongated and smooth skin that is light green in color. Internally, its flesh is white, spongy and embedded with soft, tiny seeds. The fruits are used as a vegetable or making sweets (e.g. halwa , kheer, pedha and barfi) and pickles . As a vegetable, it is easily digestible even by patients. The dry hard shells are used to make musical instruments, pipes, bowls, bottles, containers, floats for fishing nets etc . Kofta is a most popular preparation. Good source of fibre free carbohydrates and fruit pericarp for crude fibre. Oil extracted from kernels of seed is used as hair oil.

6. Botany Bottle gourd is a climbing annual with a duration of 3 ½ to 4 months. Flowers are solitary, chalky white in colour and open at night. Fruits are fleshy and vary in shape and size.

7. CLIMATE AND SOIL : Soil : Loam or sandy loam soil , Too much acidic soil pH is not suitable (less than 5.5). Seed germination : 25-30ºC. day temperature : 30 -35ºC Night temperature : 18-22ºC (Higher temperature induces maleness.) It is grown in summer and rainy season. In summer, the crop is sowing : summer- Dec-Jan , rainy -June-July .

8. Climate : Bottle gourd is a typical warm season vegetable . Though crop tolerates cool climate better than musk melon and water melon, it cannot tolerate frost. Well drained fertile silt loam is ideal for cultivation of bottle gourd. Crop is quite suitable for river bed cultivation because of its deep tap root system . A deep soil supports vines for a long period. Season: Crop is grown during summer and rainy season. In places where water is not scarce, it is grown throughout the year . Land preparation and sowing : Land preparation and sowing are similar to that of ash gourd. Land is ploughed to a fine tilth and furrows are made at a distance of 2.0-3.0 m. After incorporating farmyard manure, seeds are sown in furrows at a distance of 1.0-1.5 m between plants. When bottle gourd is trained on bower, follow a spacing of 3.0 x 1.0 m. In sloppy land, sowing is done in pits with 2-3 plants / pit. Soaking seeds 12-24 hours in water or in succinic acid (600 ppm) for 12 hours improves germination. Seed rate recommended is 3-6 kg/ha.

9. • Seed rate – 3- 3.5 kg/ha • seed count ; 450-500 seeds/100 g • Spacing – 2 x 1 m • FYM : 20 t/ha • Training- bower • N : P :K = 40-60 : 40-60: 60-80 kg/ha. • As per VNMKV recommendation 100: 50: 50 kg N P K /ha. • The first half dose of N must be applied as basal while the other half 30DAS. • The crop requires frequent irrigation as high humidity is needed for prolific bearing. During hot and humid weather, irrigation after every third or fourth day is needed.

10. Bottle gourd cultivation.

11. VARIETIES : • Arka Bahar • Kalyanpur Hari Lambi – fruits slightly dark green in color • NDBG 1 – gives early yield in upland conditions ; highly preferred for diara cultivation • NDBG 4 • PBOG 1 • Phule BTG 1 - produces comparatively more female flowers at basal nodes • Punjab Komal – variety with shortest duration from fruit set to maturity , 70DAS • Punjab Long • Punjab Round • Pusa Manjari – high yielding hybrid , round fruited • Pusa Meghdoot – F1 hybrid between Pusa Summer Prolific Long and Sel. 2. • Pusa Naveen – perfectly cylindrical fruit, free from crook neck • Pusa Summer Prolific Long – can be grown in rainy season also. • Pusa Summer Prolific Round – prolific bearer and heavy yielder. • Rajendra Chamatkar • Kalyanpur Long Green – developed at CSAUAT Vegetable Research Station, Kalyanpur , Kanpur • Samrat – released from Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth , Rahuri ; Box packing • Pusa Hybrid 3 – for distant market, very early maturing

12. Training and pruning : As bottle gourd puts good vegetative growth, proper training and pruning are advantageous. Training plants to bower helps to trap sunlight more effectively and yield as high as 80 t/ha was obtained. Axillary buds of growing vines should be removed till vines reach the bower height . When vine reaches bower, apical bud is removed at 10-15 cm below bower to allow 2 or 3 branches to spread on bower. After formation of 4-5 fruits, vines are again pruned allowing 2-3 axillary buds only to grow on primary vines. It is also advisable to remove all yellow and pale colored older leaves near bottom portion . Harvesting : Fruits are harvested at tender stage when it grows to one third to half. Fruits attain edible maturity 10-12 days after anthesis and are judged by pressing on fruit skin and noting pubescence persisting on skin. At edible maturity seeds are soft . Seeds become hard and flesh turn coarse and dry during aging . Tender fruits with cylindrical shape are preferred in market. Harvesting starts 55-60 days after sowing and is done at 3-4 days intervals. While harvesting, care should be taken to avoid injury to vines as well as to fruits. Plucking of individual fruits is done with sharp knives by keeping a small part of fruit stalk along with fruit. Average yield is 20-25 t/ha for open pollinated varieties and 40-50 t/ha for F1 hybrids. Fruits can be stored for 3-5 days under cool and moist condition. For export purpose, fruits are packed in polythene bags and bags are kept in boxes of 50-100 kg capacity.

13. • Fruit set can be improved by spraying the plants with MH (400 ppm) along with 100kg N/ha. • The crop is ready for harvest approx. 60-70 DAS. • The fruits take 12-15 days after fruit setting to reach marketable stage. • Fruits should be picked after every 34 days. • Smaller and tender fruits fetch a better price in the market. Yield – 20t/ha . hybrids – 40-50 t/ha

14. Postharvest, storage and marketing: • Improper harvesting , handling, transportation, and distribution results in significant loss. •several post harvest factors like physical, physiological, mechanical and hygienic conditions. • These can be reduced by proper cultural operations, harvesting, transportation, storage, and pre and post harvest treatments. •processed product is tuty fruity. •fruits can be stored for 3-5 days under cool and shady conditions , in cold storage they can be stored for long periods. •fruits are packed in polythene bag and kept in small boxes and these boxes are transported to market. • for export fruits should be picked at edible stage and kept in boxes pf 50-100kg capacity.