Snake Gourd

Snake Gourd ( Trichosanthes cucumerina) is native to India & grown for its long and slender fruits. It is a climbing vine & some varieties also produce short fruits.



Climate & soil

• It requires tropical , warm & humid climate for best growth
• it cannot tolerate heavy rainfall as flowering is greatly affected.
  
• very heavy rianfall will make the plant succeptable to various fungal & mycoplasma diseases
• loamy soils are preferred for its cultivation
• soil pH must be in range of 6.0 to 7.0
• every cold climate is not suitable, & it cannot tolerate frost

Sowing
since we are following summer methods of cultivation, we made use of the previously made seed beds which belonged to the previous crop & previous season

• pits measuring 2 feet in diameter are made & 2 seeds sowed per each pit
• the pits must be well mixed with farm yard manure till a fine tilth is obtained.
  
• lite irrigation is then given
• since the seeds take a long time to germinate due to very hard seed coat, it is advised to soak the seeds in water over night before sowing
• some practices follow the soaking of the seeds in curds to activate quicker germination
• when conditions are good, the seeds germinate within 10 days. if the seeds have still not germinated, re sowing is recommended

germination seen within 10 days after sowing

one week after germination

12 days after germination

Irrigation & Inter Culture Operations

• light irrigation must be given immediately after sowing
• it is important to maintain the moisture level in the soil. after germination, dried leaves, etc can be used as mulch to retain moisture
• during growth stage, watering must be done at least thrice a week, when temperature is high. during later stages of growth, water intake can be reduced
• since the plant is a vine, support must be provided so that it grows & it must be trained over a bower or pandal or trellis.
• 21 days after sowing, well composted farm yard manure has to be added. care must be taken to see that the manure is well composted or it may damage the shoot.
• at this stage, while adding manure, the size of the pits must be increased by working on the sides of the pit to accommodate manure & also to provide more area for the movement of the roots. clods that are formed are destroyed , resulting is good soil aeration & porosity
• all the weeds must be removed
  

when plant reaches 21 days time, manure is added & support is given for the vines to climb

photo below shows rapid climbing of the vines after 35 days of sowing

Flowering & Harvest

• fruits start forming after 60 to 70 days after sowing.
  
• at flowering stage , one spray of plant hormones like NAA is recommended @ 1 ml in 1 litre water to increase the number of female flowers.
• fully developed tender fruits can be harvested every 4 to 5 days.
  
• tying a small stone to the stigmatic end of the fruits is a widely practiced method.
• under organic practices, the plant will continue to yield for up to 2 months, when conditions are favourable.
• the average yield of snake gourd is over 150 quintals per hectare.

some varieties in our farm


the green fruit with longitudinal white stripes. these fruits are much more heavier than the white fruits & are medium to short in length

these white fruits yield continuously, and are less heavy compared to the green type. the fruits are soft & short.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza

ridge gourds grown during monsoon

the seed beds must contain freshly decomposed organic manure. 2 buckets of manure can be added for every seed bed. the main field should have raised seed beds as water stagnation can destroy the young seedlings.
the figure above shows a typical raised bed. 2 to 3 seeds are sowed in every seed bed.

germination will take place after more than a week. under good field conditions, germination is faster. here germination was recorded 8 days after sowing

after 2 weeks after germination. as there is shortage of sunlight, the plants appear weak, even though the seed beds have all the required plant nutrients.

photo taken after 21 days after germination. when sunlight becomes available, growth and development is rapidly accelerated.

using tree branches as support for the growing ridge gourd plants. ridge gourds are climbers & thus require support for its growth.

thinning out must be done & only 2 seedlings must be retained per every raised bed.

2 or 3 sticks with lateral branches are inserted in every bed as shown. care must be taken to see that the sticks do not damage the plant roots or stem.

then the plants must gently be wrapped around the twigs. in 2 datys time, the tendrils will hold the twigs & grow

field shows support given to the plants.

15 days after giving support, the plant is well established & continues to grow using the provided support.

plant seen climbing upwards, the entire length of the support provided.

one month after providing support. the plant has grown very well & climbed the entire length of the support. the lateral shoots that emerge tend to keep falling away from the supporting material. & so the vines should be monitored everyday.

from another angle. as rainfall subsides, the beds need to be opened up & inter culture operations must be continued.


here we can see, the opening up of the raised beds & now pits have been made. 2 to 3 buckets of fresh decomposed manure is added. it is not required to water the pits as moisture content in the soil due to over night rainfall is sufficient for the plant.
only if prolonged dry spells are seen, watering can be done , alternate days, to retain moisture in the soil. at this stage, using complex NPK is also practiced.

another important index is the color green. when the plant is getting adequate nitrogen, the leaves & entire plant has a lush appearance. here the photo shows the plant has attained a height of more than 8 feet & is now slowly covering the trellis/pendall

harvesting can be seen almost immediate after flowering. since it still rains every now and then, incidence of fruit borer is very common. in some cases, tender fruits are harvested earlier to prevent boring of the fruits from the insect.

another view of the same crop. the on off showers increases the incidence of fungus & insects. using strong organic based insect repellents every week is highly recommended. spraying with chemical insecticides is not done as it does not have much impact during the monsoons. repeated sprays are highly toxic to the plant & also unfit for human consumption.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza

Bottle Gourd cultivation

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is a widely grown tropical vegetable which has high carbohydrate content. oil can be extracted from the seed kernel and is used in hair care products. the hard shells of the bottle gourd can be used as utensils, or floats in fishing nets and even musical instruments, due to its resonating property.

soil and climate
bottle gourds require well drained and sandy loam soils for its good cultivation. it cannot tolerate higher amounts of acidity, alkalinity or salinity. pH range is between 5 to 5.5 . when soil conditions are not optimum, then production of female flowers is greately affected.
ten days after sowing. thinning out has to be done & min of 2 seeds must be retained in every bed

21 days after sowing.

it can be grown almost in all climates, however, too much rainfall is not good. optimum temperature range is between 30 to 35 degrees during day. if temperature is very high, then more number of male flowers are formed thereby decreasing yield.

LAND PREPARATION, IRRIGATION AND FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT

Since we are discussing monsoon techniques for growing bottle gourds, the land selected must have good drainage. to attain this at least 3 repeated ploughings must be done. raised seed beds are made up to height of 30 cm & distance between beds must be maintained at minimum 2 meters.
irregular leaf shape is due to heavy rainfall & pest attack. spraying with systemic insecticides like dimethoate @ 1 ml per litre every week till plant is healthy is done.
lush green leaves indicates good nitrogen in the soil

in the presence of optimum sunlight, the leaves are able to prepare their own food & the plants appear much more healthy

irrigation is not given during monsoon , but when there is dry spell, light irrigation must be done just to replenish soil moisture. in summer irrigation is carried out thrice a week. if proper mulching is done, irrigation can be reduced to twice weekly.

the 3 photos above show the crop development after a 35 days after sowing. care must be taken to see that the growing vines are free from developing weeds, or it will hinder harvesting.

development of fruits, fruit setting seen


requires good amounts of organic manure. since it is a long duration crop, it is highly beneficial to add manures in split doses. bulky organic manures can be added to the soil every 20 days, while it is good to add complex fertilizers at least once every month.
it responds great to foliar applications as well. the number of female flowers can be increased using plant hormones like NAA, naphthalene acetic acid @ 1 ml per litre, just during flowering stage.
a healthy bottle gourd plant, which seems to be climbing. the vines can grow up to 20 feet, if left unchecked & hence thinning out is done to avoid overcrowding. also distance is maintained between beds for this reason

flowering can be observed. the plant continues to grow & the vines cover the complete area giving a carpet like appearance.

fruit setting in the above 2 photos

the green carpet cover

HARVESTING
bottle gourds can be harvested after 55 to 75 days after sowing. care must be taken while harvesting to see that proper tender and ripe fruits must be harvested. the developing tender fruits will have green color & the seed coat & rind are tender. it is best to harvest at this stage. sometimes , harvesting is done depending on the size it attains. smaller fruits are in great demand as compared to bug sized fruits.
when the color changes from green to white, the seed coat and rind hardens & then it becomes over ripe & unfit for consumption. such fruits are kept for formation of seeds, which can be extracted once the fruit completely dries up.


some varieties can yield up to 20 tonnes per hectare.

NOTE
In many cases, especially during monsoon, the growing vines are pruned to allow more lateral branching. vines which are bit old & semi hard are pruned to get the desired result. in some other cases, the vines are allowed to train on coconut ropes grown on bower of bamboo sticks. this is done to prevent the developing fruits from coming in contact with soil & rotting.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza

pests of brinjal

Shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbonalis)

This is a very serious pest & results in more than 60 percent crop loss. Holes will be seen on the fruit & stem & plugged with its excreta. Even though the incidence of the pest is throughout the year, its more often seen in the monsoons. Heavy leaves drooping is also caused due to boring the stem.

Management : at every harvest, the damaged fruits must be separated from other fruits & destroyed. Also just before fruit setting, the drooping leaves must be pruned. Spraying the crops with cypermethrin @ 2 ml per litre is very effective. It is recommended to use a combination of cypermethrin with profenophos , as foliar spray @ 2 ml per litre & sprayed at an interval of every 25 to 20 days after flowering

Also certain resistant varieties like Punjab Barsati can be used.

Horn Moth (Acherontia styx)

Stout & large caterpillars with intricate designs with lateral yellow bands feed on the leaves gregariously. Even though it’s seen in patches, its very destructive.

Management: best method is to collect & destroy the caterpillars manually, if the incidence is less or the crop are is less. However if it’s a serious problem, spraying with chloropyriphos @ 3 ml per litre for the first week of attack , followed by 2 ml per litre the following week is very effective. Chloropyriphos has very high mammalian toxicity & therefore it must not be indiscriminately used.





Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza