Ribbed gourd
Luffa acutangula Roxb.
Cucurbitaceae

Ribbed Gourd	Drip irrigated ribbed gourd	Bandhal System	Field View	Mulching of ribbed gourd

Varieties
Co 1, Co 2, PKM 1.

Soil
Sandy loam rich in organic matter with good drainage and pH range from 6.5-7.5.

Season
Planting spreads during July and January

Seed rate
Variety: 2 kg/ha and hybrids -1kg/ha. Sow the seeds (3 seeds/pit) treated with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10g/kg of seeds and thin the seedlings to two per pit after 15 days..

Seed treatment
The seeds are treated with Trichoderma viride 4 g or Pseudomonas fluorescens 10 g / kg of seeds before sowing.

Preparation of field
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 and form basins.

Sowing
Sow the seeds (5 seeds / pit) and thin the seedlings to two/ pit after 15 days.

Ribbed gourd with black polythene mulch	Ribbed gourd under pandal system

Irrigation
Irrigate the basin before dibbling the seeds and thereafter once in a week.

Application of fertilizers
Apply 10 kg of FYM, 100 g of NPK 6:12:12 g mixture as basal dose/pit and N @ 10 g/pit at 30 days after sowing.Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria @2 kg/ha and Pseudomonas 2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg and neem cake @ 100 kg before last ploughing.

Drip irrigation
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 in lateral tubes at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm spacing with 4 LPH and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively.

Sowing
Dig pits of size 45 x 45 x 45 cm at spacing of 2 m in row spaced at 1.5 m. 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.

Fertigation
Apply a dose of 250:100:100 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split application.

Fertigation Schedule- Ribbed gourd (Hybrid)
Recommended dose: 250:100:100 Kg/ha

*75% RD of Phosphorus applied as superphosphate = 469 Kg/ha.
1. 19:19:19 = 158 kg/ha
2. 13:0:45 = 154 kg/ha
3. 12:61:0 = 115 kg/ha
4. Urea = 405 kg/ha

After cultivation
Hoeing is done thrice to control weed population. Provide support for the plants to reach the pandal erected at a height of 2 m.  Spray Ethrel 250 ppm (2.5 ml/10 lit of water) four times commencing from 15th day after sowing at weekly intervals to increase yield.

Plant protection
Pests
Beetles, fruit flies and caterpillars
• 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 Dichlorvos 76% EC 6.5 ml/10 lit or Trichlorofon 50% EC 1.0 ml/l

copper and sulphur dust as 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.

CIB recommendation
Spray ametoctradin + dimethomorph 20.27% w/w SC @ 0.04%

Yield
Average yield is 14 – 15 t/ha.

Hybrid
35-40 t/ha in 135 – 175 days.

Market Information