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Ash Gourd
Botanical Name – Benincasa hispida cogn.
Family – Cucurbitaceae

Importance

• Ash gourd also known as white gourd, winter melon or fuzzy melon.
• It is native from Southeast Asia.
• It is a rich source of Fat, protein, carbohydrates and fibre.
• Ash gourd have several medicine properties.
• As it contain low calories, it is good for diabetic patients.
• It is used to treat constipation, acidity and to kill intestinal worms.
• Popular “Petha” is made from Ash gourd

Varieties

1.PAG-3 (2003): 

• The medium-length vines have green leaves.
• The fruits are appealing, spherical, and of average size.
• From planting until harvesting, 145 days pass.
• Fruits weigh 10 kg on average and produce 120 q/acre on average.

POPULAR VARIETIES DEVELOPED BY ICAR IIHR BANGLORE

2.Kashi Surbhi: 

• Fruits oblong, ellipsoid, rind greenish white, flesh white;
• Average fruit weight 10-12.kg;
• Fruits are suitable for long distance transportation;
• It has yield potential of 240 q/acre (Kharif season) and 210-200 q/acre (summer season).

3.Kashi Dhawal: 

• This variety is derived from a local collection.
• The vine length is 7.5-8 m.
• Fruits are oblong, flesh white, thickness 8.5-8.7 cm, seed arrangements linear, average weight 11-12 kg crop duration 120 days and yield 230-240 q/ha.
• This is suitable for preparation of Petha sweets due to high flesh recovery.

Other States variety

CO 1, CO 2, Pusa Ujjwal, Kashi Ujawal, MAH 1, IVAG 502

Seed & Seed treatment

Seed Rate

• Seed rate of 2 kg is sufficient for one acre land.
  
  Seed Treatment
• To protect seeds from soil borne fungus, treat seeds with Carbendazim @ 2 gm/kg of seeds.
• After chemical treatment, treat seeds with Trichoderma Viride@4gm/kg of seeds or Pseudomonas fluroscens@10gm/kg of seeds.

Sowing Seed

Time of sowing

• In north India, it can be cultivated for two times.
• It is sown in February-March and also in June -July.

Spacing

• Sow two seeds per hill on one side of bed which is 3 m wide and use spacing of 75-90 cm.
  
  Sowing Depth
• Seeds are sown at depth of 1-2 cm.
  
  Method of Sowing
• Seeds are directly sown on bed.

Soil

Soil –

• It can grow on variety of soils but gives best results when grown on sandy loam soils.
• Ideal pH range of soil is about 6 to 6.5.
• Climate – 
• Temperature – 15-35°C
• Sowing Temperature – 15 – 20°C 
• Harvesting Temperature – 22-35°C
• Rainfall – 100- 150cm

Preparation of Field

• Plough the field 3 – 4 times.
• Dig pits of 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm at a spacing of 2 x 1.5 m and form basins.

Application of Fertilizers

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

• Overall it required Nitrogen@40kg in form of Urea@90kg/acre, Phosphorus@20kg in form of SSP@125kg/acre and Potash@20kg in form of MOP@35kg/acre.
• Apply half dose of Nitrogen and full dose of Phosphorus and Potash at time of bed preparation.
• Apply remaining dose of Nitrogen when crop is at flowering stage.

Irrigation

Irrigate the basins before dibbling the seeds and thereafter once a week.

Foliar Application
Application of ethrel at 250 ppm at 2 leaf stage and 5 leaf stage enhances female
flower production.
Fruit Storage

Matured fruits can be stored over sand bed at ambient condition.

Quality Seedling Production

Nursery raising

• In hi-tech horticulture, use 12 days old healthy seedlings obtained from shade net
  houses for planting.
• Raise the seedlings in protrays having 98 cells.
• Use well decomposed cocopeat as medium.
• Sow one seed per cell.
• Water regularly twice a day.
• Transplant about 12 days old seedlings in the main field

Plant Protection

1.Fruit flies: Bactrocera cucurbitae

Management:

• Collect infested and fallen fruits and bum in deep pits.
• Use ribbed gourd as trap crop and apply carbaryl 0.15% or malathion 0.1% on congregating adult flies on the undersurface of leaves.
• Use attractants like citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, vinegar (acetic acid), and lactic acid to trap flies.
• Use poison baiting in severe infestation.

2.Pumpkin beetles: Red Beetle: Aulacophora foveicollis

Symptoms of damage:

• Grubs feeds on the roots, stem and fruits touching the soil
• Adult feeds on leaf and flowers.

Management:

• Plough the fields just after harvesting destroy the hibernating adults
• Collect and destroy adult beetles
• Spray malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml or dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml or methyl demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ ha

3.Stem borer or clear winged moth: Melittia eurytion

Symptoms of damage:

• Larva bores into  the stem of snake gourd and produces galls

Management:

• Collect and destroy the damaged plant parts with larvae
• Encourage activity of parasitoid: Apanteles spp.
• Spray any following insecticides
  • malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml
  • dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml
  • methyl demeton 25 EC @ 500 ml/ ha

4.Stem gall fly: Neolasioptera falcata

Symptoms of damage:

• Maggots bore into the distal shoot and form galls

Management:

• Spray any following insecticides
  • Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml
  • Dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml
  • Methyl demeton 25 EC @ 500 ml/ ha

5.Snake gourd semilooper : Plusia peponis

Symptoms of damage:

• The caterpillar cuts the edges  of  leaf lamina, folds it over the  leaf and feeds from within leaf roll

Management:

• Collect and destroy the caterpillars
• Encourage activity of Apanteles taragamae, A. plusiae
•  Spray any following insecticides
  • Malathion 50 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Dimethoate 30 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Methyl demeton 25 EC @500 ml/ha

6.Pumpkin caterpillar: Diaphania indica

Symptoms of damage:

• Young larva scrapes the cholorophyll content
• Later on it folds and webs the leaves and feeds within
• It also feeds on flowers and bores into developing fruits

Management:

• Collect and destroy early stage caterpillars
• Encourage activity of parasioid: Apanteles spp.
• Spray any following insecticides
  • Malathion 50 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Dimethoate 30 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Methyl demeton 25 EC @500 ml/ha

7.Bottle gourd plume moth: Sphenarches caffer

Nematode

• Apply neemcake @ 30g/plant as spot treatment 10 days prior to sowing.
• Soil application of P. fluorescens @ 2.5kg/ha

Fertigation & Fertigation schedule

• Fertigation
• Apply 60:30:30 kg of NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split application.
• 75% of phosphorus, is applied through superphosphate as basal dose.

Fertigation Schedule- Ash gourd (Hybrid)
Recommended Dose: 200:100:100 kg/ha

*75% RD of Phosphorus applied as superphosphate = 469 Kg/ha.
1. 19:19:19 = 53 kg/ha
2. 13:0:45 = 199kg/ha
3. 12:61:0 = 25 kg/ha
4. Urea = 351 kg/ha

Nutritional Deficiency

1.Nitrogen

Deficiency Symptoms

• Apical growing points stop developing leaves thick brittle and irregular chlorosis.

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of Borax 0.5 % at fortnightly intervals

2.Potassium

Deficiency Symptoms

• Older leaves affected first.
• Leaf tips and margins turn yellow and then become scorched continuing inward to the leaf center.
• Leaf margin cup downward interveinal leaf necrosis restricted growth.

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of K2SO4 @1 % at fortnightly intervals

3.Magnesium

Deficiency Symptoms

• Apical growing points stop developing leaves thick brittle and irregular chlorosis.

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of Borax 0.5 % at fortnightly intervals

4.Manganese

Deficiency Symptoms

• Symptoms seen in young leaves; leaves become pale yellow

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of MnSO4 @0.5 % at fortnightly intervals

Diseases
1.Downy mildew: Pseudoperonospora cubensis 

Symptoms

• Symptoms resembling mosaic viz, pale green areas separated by dark green areas appear on upper surface of leaf.
• During wet season, corresponding lower surface is covered with faint purplish fungal growth.
• The entire leaf dries up quickly.

Management

• Use of bed system with wide spacing with good drainage and air movement and exposure to sun help to check the disease development.
• Spray with Moncozeb 0.2 % or Chlorothalonil 0.2% or Difolaton 0.2% or Ridomil MZ 72 0.1%
• Seed treatment with Apron SD 35 @ 2 g./kg. followed by spraying with Mancozeb 0.2% is effective in reducing the disease.

2.Powdery mildew: Erysiphe cichoracearum 

Symptoms

• Powdery mildew, is especially prevalent in hot dry conditions.
• White or brown mealy growth will be found on upper and lower surfaces and stems.
• Under severe infestations, the plant will be weakened and stunted.

Management

• The disease can be controlled by spraying Wettable sulphur 0.1%.

3.Mosaic: PRSV/CMV

Symptoms:

• A virus distributed world wide, affecting most cucurbits but rarely affecting watermelon.
• New growth is cupped downward, and leaves are severely mottled with alternating light green and dark green patches.
• Plants are stunted, and fruits are covered with bumpy protrusions. Severely affected cucumber fruit may be almost entirely white.

Management

• The virus is readily transferred by aphids and survives on a wide variety of plants.
• Varietal resistance is the primary management tool, and eliminating weeds and infected perennial ornamentals that may harbor the virus is critical.
• Spray with any one of the systemic insecticide

Harvest

• Seeds attain physiological maturity at 80 – 85 days after anthesis when fruit stalk becomes dry and ashy coat on the fruit surface is prominent.
• Under sized fruits should be rejected.

Fruit Yield

Varieties : 30 – 35 t/ha
Hybrids : 80-90 t/ha

Market Information

Crop Growing districts  – Erode, Coimbatore, Villupuram
Major markets in Tamil Nadu -Periyar Vegetable Market, Koyambedu, Chennai Natchipalayam vegetable market, Coimbatore

Preferred Varieties and hybrids – Co 1 and Co 2