BOTTLE GOURD (Lagenaria siceraria)
Season
Bottle gourd can be successfully grown during January-March and Sept-December. For the rainfed crop, sowing can also be started after the receipt of the first few showers during May-June.
Varieties
Pusa Summer Prolific Long, Arka Bahar
Seed rate: 3-4 kg/ha
Preparation of land
Pits of 60 cm diameter and 30-45 cm depth are taken at 3 m x 3 m spacing for growing on pandals. For trailing on the ground, make pits at a spacing of 2 m in rows 3-4 m apart. Well rotten FYM and fertilizers are mixed with topsoil in the pit.
Sowing
Four or five seeds are sown per pit. Remove unhealthy plants after two weeks and retain three plants per pit.
Manuring
Apply farm yard manure at the rate of 20-25 t/ha as basal dose along with half dose of N (35 kg) and full dose of P2O5 (25 kg) and K2O (25 kg/ha). The remaining dose of N (35 kg) can be applied in several split doses at fortnightly intervals.
Aftercultivation
During the initial stages of growth, irrigate at an interval of three or four days. Irrigate on alternate days during flowering and fruiting periods. Trailing can be done either on pandals or on the ground.
Conduct weeding and raking of the soil at the time of fertilizer application. Earthing up may be done during rainy season.
Pests
The important pests are epilachna beetle and red pumpkin beetle. They can be controlled by adopting measures recommended under bitter gourd.
Diseases
Downy mildew and powdery mildew are important diseases in bottle gourd. Refer control measures recommended for bitter gourd.
Harvesting can be done only after 10 days (at least) of insecticide / fungicide application. The fruits should be washed thoroughly in water before cooking.
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