Bottle Gourd
Botanical Name -Lagenaria Siceraria
Family - Cucurbitaceae

• Bottle gourd is also known as “Calabash” or “lauki” and it belongs to family “Cucurbitaceae”.
• It is an annual climbing vine which has vigorous growth.
• The plant bears white color flowers which bears fleshy and bottle shaped fruits.
• The fruit is used for cooking purpose.
• There are also health benefits of bottle gourd.
• It helps in better digestion, reduces sugar level and constipation, cures insomnia and urinary infections and is good remedy for treating insomnia.

1.Punjab Long (1997): 

• It is appropriate for packaging as well as long-distance marketing.
• The average yield per acre is 180 q /acre.

2.Punjab Komal (1988) :

• Variety that matures early.
• The first fruit matures and is marketable in about 70 days after sowing.
• It produces 10-12 oblong, medium-sized, light green, pubescent fruits per vine. Fruits are tender and borne on medium, long, thin pedicel from the fourth or fifth node.
• It is resistant to the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV).
• The average yield per acre is around 200 q /acre.

3.Punjab Barkat (2014): 

• Vines as vigorously growing and profusely branched.
• The stem is adolescent.
• The fruits are long, cylindrical, gleaming, tender, and light green in colour.
• It is moderately resistant to mosaic disease.
• It produces 226 q/acre on average.

4.Punjab Bahar (2017):

• Medium-length pubescent vines.
• The fruits are nearly round, medium in size, light green, gleaming, and pubescent.
• Its vines produce 9 to 10 fruits on average.
• It has an average yield of 222 q/acre.

5.Bottle Gourd Round Varieties

The main varieties of round bottle gourd are Pusa Summer Prolific Round, Pusa Manjri (Sankar variety), and Punjab Round.

POPULAR VARIETIES DEVELOPED BY ICAR IIHR BANGLORE

6.Arka Bahar : 

• Pure line selection from IIHR-20A.
• Fruits medium long, straight without crookneck.
• Light green shining fruit skin when tender (1kg).
• Tolerant to blossom end rot. Yield 160-180q/ acre.

• 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.

Soil –

• It is grown in variety of soils.
• It gives best result when grown in sandy loam to loamy soil.

Climate–

• Bottle gourd requires hot and humid climate.
• This crop is very sensitive to frost & it does not tolerate frost.
• So it is very necessary that there should be no frost for 4 months for is better growth.
• Temperature of about 20 to 32°C is suitable for its cultivation.

Time of sowing:
The optimum time for sowing is February-March, June-July and November-December month.

Spacing:
Use row spacing of 2.0-2.5m and plant spacing of 45-60cm.

Sowing depth:
1-2cm deep seeds are sown.

Seed rate:
Seed rate of 2 kg is sufficient for one acre land.

Seed treatment:
Seed is treated with Bavistin@0.2% @3gm/kg to protect the seeds from soil borne fungus. 

• For bottle gourd farming, well prepared land is used.
• To bring the soil to fine tilth, ploughing followed by harrowing is done.

• Apply FYM (Farm Yard Manure) @ 20-25 tonnes / acre.
• Application of fertilizer dose of nitrogen @ 28 kg /acre in the form of urea @ 60 kg / acre should be done.
• First dose of nitrogen@14 kg / acre (urea @30kg / acre) is given at the time of sowing and second dose of nitrogen @14 kg / acre (urea @ 30 kg / acre) is given at the time of first picking.

• Crop requires immediate irrigation.
• After sowing, immediate irrigation is given.
• In summer season 6-7 irrigations are required and in rainy season if needed then irrigation is given.
• In total, 9 irrigations are required.

• Install drip system with main and sub-main pipes and place the inline lateral tubes at
  an interval of 1.5 m.
• Place the drippers at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm spacing with 4 LPH
  and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively.

• To control the weeds, 2-3 hoeings are required at the initial stages of plant growth.
• Weeding operations are carried out at the time of fertilizer application.
• Earthing up is also an effective way which should be carried out in rainy season. 

• 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 branch

Pest and their control

1) Fruit fly : Bactrocera cucurbitae

Management:

• Collect infested and fallen fruits and bum in deep pits.
• Expose the pupae by ploughing and turning over soil after harvest
• 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.

2. Pumpkin beetles:  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 : 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

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

• Depending upon variety and season, crop is ready for harvesting in 60-70 days.
• Depending upon market requirement, medium and tender fruits are harvested. Mature fruits are mostly stored for seed production purpose.
• Cut the fruits from vines with help of sharp knife.
• In peak season, picking should be done in every 3-4 days.

• Keep isolation distance of 800m from other varieties of sponge gourd.
• Remove diseased plants from the field.
• For seed production, the fruits are harvested when they get physiologically mature. Three field inspections are required for the production of true to type seed.
• After harvesting, fruits are dried and then seeds are extracted.

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

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