Botanical Name: Lagenaria siceraria
Varieties: ,br>Arka Bahar: Medium long fruits with curved tip
Pusa Summer Prolific Long (PSPL):Long fruits with an average length of 4ft.
Climate & Soil: Warm humid climate. Well-drained fertile silt loam soil. Suitable for riverbed cultivation.
Season: May-Jun, Sept-Dec, Jan-Mar.
Seed rate: 3-6kg/ha
Spacing: 3 X 3 m, pit size 60 X 30-45 cm.Four or five seeds are sown per pit. Remove unhealthy plants after two weeks and retain three plants per pit.
Nutrient management : Apply farm yard manure at the rate of 20-25 t/ha as basal dose along with half dose of N (35 kg) and full dose of P2O5 (25 kg) and K2O (25 kg/ha). The remaining dose of N (35 kg) can be applied in several split doses at fortnightly intervals.
Crop Management: . Erect pandals when the plants start vining, 3 weeks after the germination of seeds. One pandal can be used for two seasons. For trailing, spread dried twigs or coconut leaves on the ground. Conduct irrigation, weeding and earthing up whenever necessary.
Pest Management :

• Epilachna beetle, pumpkin beetle : Both adult and grubs scrape the leaf lamina and skeletanise the leaves. Ekalux 25EC - 2ml/l, mechanical control.
  Pumpkin beetle : Adults feed on the leaves and the grubs bore the roots and destroy the whole plant. Burn the pits before sowing.Apply neem cake. Ekalux 25EC - 2ml/l,

Disease Management :

• Downy mildew : Yellow spots on the upper surface and water soaked fungal spots on the lower surface of leaves. Dithane M.45 4g/l, field sanitation.
• Powdery mildew : Ashy spots on the leaves and stem. Karathane 1g/l, clean cultivation.

Harvesting: Harvest in tender stage after attaining maximum size.
Yield: 25 - 30 t/ha.
Post Harvesting: Harvesting at tender stage is advisable for better yield and market demand. The fruits are to be handled carefully to avoid damage. The fruits are then graded and packed in cartons without causing damage
Seed Collection: