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Bottle Gourd(Luffa acutangula Roxb.); Cucurbitaceae

Pusa Summer Prolific Long, Pusa Summer Prolific Round, Pusa Manjari, Pusa Megdoot and Arka Bahar, PLR 2, PLR 1(salad type)
TNAU Bottle gourd Hybrid CO1
Sandy loams rich in organic matter with good drainage and a pH range from 6.5 to 7.5.
July and January. Sow the seeds (3 seeds/pit) treated with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g or Pseudomonas fluorescens 10 g or carbendazim 2 g/kg of seeds and thin the seedlings to two per pit after 15 days.
Variety: 2 kg/ha and hybrid: 1 kg/ha
Plough the field to fine tilth. Dig pits of 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm size at 2.5 x 2 m spacing
Irrigate the field before dibbling the seeds and thereafter once a week
Apply 10 kg of FYM (20 t/ha) and 100 g of NPK 6:12:12 mixture as basal and 10 g of N per pit 30 days after sowing. Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria 2 kg/ha and Pseudomonas 2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg/ha and neem cake @ 100 kg/ha before last ploughing.
Install drip system with main and sub-main pipes and place the inline lateral tubes at an interval of 1.5m. Place the drippers at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm spacing with 4LPH and 3.5LPH capacities respectively.
Form raised beds of 120cm width and place laterals in the centre of bed.
In hi-tech horticulture, plant 15 days old healthy seedlings raised in shade net houses. Raise the seedlings in protrays having 98 cells or in polythene bags. Transplant about 15 days old seedlings in the main field.
Dig pits of size 45 x 45 x 45 cm at spacing of 1.5 m between row 2 m between plant. Sow three seeds in each pit. After germination, thin to 2 healthy seedlings. Instead of direct sowing, the seeds can be sown in poly bags @ 2 seeds / bag and 15 days after germination, they can be planted @ 2 seedlings per pit.
Apply a dose of 200:100:100 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split application.

Bottle gourd (Hybrid)
Recommended Dose: 200:100:100 Kg/ha
Crop Stage                    Duration in Days              Fertilizer Grade            Total Fertilizer(Kg/ha)           Nutrient Supplied                 % Requirement                                                                                                                                                              N P K                                          N P K

Crop
establishment stage                10                              19:19:19 +MN 13-0-45

                                                                                               Urea26.81
11.00
29.03
5.00
1.43
13.35
5.00
–
–
5.00
4.95
–
10.00 5.00 10.0
0
Subtotal 19.78 5.00 9.95
Vegetative
stage
30 12-61-0
13-0-45
Urea
12.28
66.00
109.00
1.47
8.58
50.14
7.50
–
–
–
29.70
–
30.00 7.50 30.0
0
Subtotal 60.19 7.50 29.70
Flower
initiation to
first picking
30 12-61-0
13-0-45
Urea
12.28
44.00
115.00
1.47
5.72
52.90
7.50
–
–
–
19.80
–
30.00 7.50 20.0
0
Subtotal 60.09 7.50 19.80
Harvesting
stage
45 19:19:19 +
MN
13-0-45
Urea
26.31
78.00
97.52
5.00
10.14
44.86
5.00
–
–
5.00
35.10
– 30.00 5.00 40.0
Total
duration
115
days
Subtotal 60.00 5.00 40.10
Total 200.0 24.9
(or)
25.0
99.35
(or)
100.0
100 25 100
*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

Weeding can be done by hoeing as and when necessary. Fruit rot during rainy season can be checked by training the plants over the bamboo stick or dried branche

Pests
For Leaf miner – Liriomyza trifolii,
Red pumpkin beetle – Aulacophora foveicollis,
Aphids– Aphis gossypii,
Thrips– Thrips palmi,
White fly – Bemesia tabaci,
Pumpkin caterpillar – Diaphania indica and
Fruit fly– Bactrocera cucurbitae,
Spray cyantraniliprole 10.26 OD @1.8ml/lit. or Azadirachtin 0.03%


Aphids and jassids
Imidacloprid 70 WG                                                               1.0g/10lit.
Fruit borers & Caterpillars
Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC                                                   2.0ml/10lit.
Red Spider mite
Dicofol 18.5 EC                                                                         2.0ml/lit.
Fruit fly
1. Collect the affected fruits and destroy.
2. The fly population is low in hot day conditions and it is peak in rainy season.
Hence adjust the sowing time accordingly.
3. Expose the pupae by ploughing.
4. Install cucurbit fruit fly trap @ 4/ acre
5. Neem oil @ 3.0 %
Do not use copper and sulphur dust, as these are phytotoxic

Powdery mildew
 Spray dinocap @ 1 ml/l or carbendazim @ 0.5 g/l
Downy mildew
 Spray mancozeb or chlorothalonil @ 2 g/l twice at 10 days interval
CIB recommendation
 Spray ametoctradin + dimethomorph 20.27% w/w SC @ 0.04%

Variety: 15 – 20 t/ha in 135 days.
Hybrid: 75-80 t/ha in 135 – 175 days

Crop Growing districts                             Dindigul,Thiruvallur,Coimbatore,Thoothukudi
Major markets in Tamil  Nadu               Periyar Vegetable Market Koyambedu, Chennai Gandhi Market, Oddanchathiram Natchipalayam                                                                                  vegetable market, Coimbatore

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