Production technology of pumpkin

Pumpkin


Pumpkin

Halloween pumpkin

Scientific name - Cucurbita maxima / Cucurbita pepo

Family -Cucurbitaceae

Origin- Central America

  • Pumpkin is a nutritious vegetable vine plant
  • Economic part - Fruit
  • Pumpkin is the largest fruit in the plant kingdom
  • It is a warm-weather crop

Morphology

Stem 

  • Vine
  • Cylindrical
  • Green colour

Roots

  • tap root system

Leaves

  • lobed with 3 or 5 lobes

Flowers

  • Monoecious
  • Bright yellow color
  • female flower has a little pumpkin at the bottom

Fruit

  • spherical shape
  • thick peel
  • orange & green colour, containing pulp & seeds

Uses

  • Food - Pumpkin curry , Pumpkin pie, Pumpkin soup
  • Pumpkin oil seed
  • Animal feed
  • Recreational purposes during Halloween.

Medicinal Value

  • anti-diabetic
  • antioxidant
  • anti-carcinogenic
  • Pain killer
  • Solution for bladder problems

Climatic Requirements

  • Tropical and subtropical crop 
  • Cultivated up to 500m MSL
  • Temperature - 27°C
  • Average Rainfall : 600-1000mm
  • Long day plant

Soil

  • Well drainage soil
  • high amount of organic matter
  • Optimum pH range is about 5.5-7.5

Varieties

  • CO 1
  • CO 2
  • Arka Suryamuki 
  • Arka Chandan
  • Puas Viswas
  • Ambili

Land Preparation

  • Turn over the soil up to 20-30 cm depth
  • Moderately rough texture is important
  • Apply 5kg of decayed organic materials per pit and mixed with top soil 
  • Fill the pits with this texture up to 10 cm height
  • Pit size should be 30cmx30cmx30cm

Seed Rate - 1kg/ha

Spacing - 2.5 x 2.5

Manures and 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

Irrigation

  • Regular watering is necessary for seed germination
  • After germination water should be applied once in 5-7 days

Weed Management

  • Weeding should be done at three weeks after germination
  • Hand weeding is most suitable
  • A mulch of straw can be used to prevent weed growth
Plant protection 

Pests 

Beetles and caterpillars

  • Application of Dichlorvos 76 % EC 6.5 ml/10 lit.

Fruit fly

  • Set cucurbit fruit fly trap @ 4/ acre.
  • The fly population low in hot day conditions and it is peak in rainy season. Hence adjust the sowing time based on season.
  • Plough the field to expose the pupae.
  • Neem oil @ 3.0 % as foliar spray as need based

Diseases

Powdery mildew

  • Powdery mildew can be controlled by spraying Carbendazim 0.5 g/lit.

Downy mildew

  • Downy mildew can be controlled by spraying Mancozeb twice at 10 days interval.

Harvest

  • When the fruits turn from green to yellow it is easy to  detach the stalks from the stem.
  • matured fruits are harvested 85 - 90 days after sowing.

Yield

  • Varieties - 18-20t/ha in 140 days 
  • Hybrid - 30-40t/ha 

Post-harvest practices

  • Matured fruits can be stored in dry place for 6-8 months




Reference

Textbook of vegetable crops by Prem nath k.R.M.swamy

Vegetable science by D.singh