Pumpkin
Cucurbita moschata Poir.
Cucurbitaceae
Varieties
CO 1, CO 2, Arka Suryamuki and Arka Chandan. Puas Viswas, Ambili.
Soil
Sandy loam soil rich in organic matter with good drainage is suitable. The pH ranging from 6.5 - 7.5 is found ideal.
Season
June- July and December- January are suitable seasons.
Soak the seeds in double the quantity of water for 30 minutes and incubate for 6 days. Sow the seeds (3 seeds/pit) treated with Azospirillum just before sowing and thin the seedlings to two per pit after 15 days.
Seed rate
1.0 kg /ha
Seed treatment
Soak the seeds in double the quantity of water for 30 minutes and incubate for 6 days. Treat the seeds with Azospirillum just before sowing.
Sowing
Sow the seeds (five seeds/pit) and thin the seedlings to two/pit after 15 days of planting.
Spacing
2 m x 2 m. Pit size 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm..
Application of fertilizers
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 after 30 days of planting. Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria @ 2 kg/ha such and Pseudomonas 2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg and neem cake @ 100 kg before last ploughing.
After cultivation
Hoe and weed thrice. Spray Ethrel 250 ppm (2.5 ml per 10 l of water) four times at weekly intervals commencing from 10 to 15 days after sowing.
|
Optimum stage for spraying growth regulators |
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 coco peat as medium. Sow one seed per cell. Water regularly twice a day.
Fertigation
Apply a dose of 60:30:30 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split application. Apply 75% of the phosphorus as superphosphate as basal dose.
Stage |
Crop stage |
Duration in days |
Fertilizer grade |
Total Fertilizer (kg/ha) |
Nutrient applied |
% of requirement |
| N |
P |
K |
N |
P |
K |
| 1 |
Crop
establishment
stage |
10 |
19:19:19 +
13-0-45
Urea |
26.81
11.00
29.03 |
5.00
1.43
13.35 |
5.00
-
- |
5.00
4.95
- |
10.00 |
5.00 |
10.00 |
| Subtotal |
19.78 |
5.00 |
9.95 |
|
|
|
| 2 |
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 |
7.5 |
30.00 |
| Subtotal |
60.19 |
7.50 |
29.70 |
|
|
|
| 3 |
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 |
7.5 |
20.00 |
| Subtotal |
60.09 |
7.50 |
19.80 |
|
|
|
| 4 |
Harvesting stage |
45 |
19:19:19 +
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 |
40.00 |
| |
Total duration |
115 days |
|
Subtotal |
60.00 |
5.00 |
40.10 |
|
|
|
| Total |
200.06 |
25.00 |
100.00 |
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
Pests and diseases
Beetles and caterpillars
Insecticide |
Dose |
Dichlorvos 76 % EC |
6.5 ml/10 lit. |
Trichlorofon 50 % EC |
1.0 ml/lit. |
Fruit fly
1) Expose the pupae by ploughing.
2) Install cucurbit fruit fly trap @ 4/ acre.
3) Collect the damaged fruits and destroy them.
4) The fly population low in hot day conditions and it is peak in rainy season. Hence adjust the sowing time accordingly.
5) Plough the field to expose the pupae.
6) Use polythene bags fish meal trap with 5 g of wet fish meal + 1 ml Dichlorvos in cotton. Totally 50 traps are required/ha, fish meal + Dichlorvos soaked cotton are to be renewed once in 20 and 7 days respectively.
7) Neem oil @ 3.0 % as foliar spray as need based
Do not use DDT, lindane 1.3% dust, copper and sulphur dust. These are phytotoxic
Diseases
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew can be controlled by spraying Dinocap 1 ml/lit. or Carbendazim 0.5 g/lit.
Downy mildew
Downy mildew can be controlled by spraying Mancozeb or Chlorothalonil 2 g/lit. twice at 10 days interval.
Harvest
When the fruits turn from green to yellow and easy detachment of stalks from the stem, harvesting can be done. Well matured fruits are harvested 85 - 90 days after sowing.
Yield
Harvest when the fruits turn from green to yellow and easy detachment of stalks from the stem. Yield in 18-20 t/ha in 140 days (Varieties) and 30-40t/ha in hybrid.
Market information
Crop Growing districts |
Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Theni, Dindigul |
Major markets in Tamil Nadu |
Periyar Vegetable Market Koyambedu,
Chennai
Gandhi Market, Oddanchathiram
Natchipalayam vegetable market, Coimbatore |
Grade Specification |
Clean and glossy, bright appearance, peel
changes from green to yellow, yellowish flesh
colour |
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