Sow the seeds during June or January to April at 2.5 kg/ha after treating with
Trichoderma viride 4 g or Pseudomonas fluorescens 10 g or carbendazim 2g/kg on one side
of channel giving a spacing of 0.6 m between hills. Thin the seedlings to two per hill.
Apply FYM 40 t/ha as basal and 35 kg of N/ha at 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 in lateral tubes at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm
spacing with 4 LPH and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively.
Sow the seeds at an interval of 60 cm distance at the centre of the bed along the
laterals. Sow the seeds in polybags @ one per bag for gap filling. Spray pre emergence
herbicide like fluchloralin 1 kg a.i. or metalachlor 0.75 kg a.i./ha on third day of sowing.
Apply a dose of 150:75:75 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split
application for F1 hybrid. In respect of phosphorus, 75% has to be applied as a basal dose.
Pests 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
Aphids & Jassids : Spray Imidacloprid 70 WG 1.0g/10lit
Crop Growing districts Kanyakumari, Dindigul, Tirunelveli,Theni Major markets in Tamil Nadu Periyar Vegetable Market, Koyambedu, Chennai Gandhi Market, Oddanchathiram Natchipalayam vegetable market,Coimbatore