Cucurbitaceous Crops- Cucumber, Sponge, Bitter, Pointed and Bottle Gourds

and Watermelon
Introduction
Cucurbits belong to family Cucurbitaceae, which comprised of 120 genera and 325 species.
Among these, 30 species are being cultivated commercially. It is the largest group of summer
season vegetables. All cucurbits favor summer season and are susceptible to frost. Most of
them are consumed as salad (cucumber, long melon), cooked vegetables (bottle gourd, ridge
gourd, bitter gourd, and sponge gourd), dessert fruit (watermelon, muskmelon), and pickle
form and in musical instruments and indoor decorations (pumpkin, bottle gourd). Fiber from
sponge gourd and ridge gourd has domestic and industrial uses. They are the good source of
vitamin A and calcium (pumpkin, squash), protein and edible oil. Most of the cucurbits are
monoecious or andromonoecious (meaning a monoecious species in which male and
hermaphrodite flowers occur separately on the same plant i.e. a few dioecious) with trailing
habit and are pollinated by insects. The bitter flavor in cucurbits is cucurbitacin. List of some
cucurbits along with their botanical name, Nepali name and, origin:

Common Nepali Botanical Name Origin Types

Name Name
Cucumber काक्रो Cucumis sativus India Annual
Monoecious
Sponge gourd घिरौला Luffa cylindrical Tropical Asia Annual
Monoecious
Bitter gourd करे ला Momordica charantia Tropical Asia, Annual
particularly eastern Monoecious
India and Southern
China
Pointed gourd परवल Trichosanthes dioca Indo-Malayan Perennial
regions Dioecious
Bottle gourd लौका Lagenaria siceraria South Africa and Annual
India Monoecious
Watermelon तरभुजा Citrullus lanatus Tropical Africa Annual
Monoecious

Varieties
List of commercially important varieties of cucurbits in Nepal:
S.N. Cucurbits Varieties
1. Cucumber Bhaktapur Local, Kushale, Mahiko Green Long
2. Sponge gourd Kantipure, Pusa Smooth, New Narayani, Gita, NS-441 etc.
3. Bitter gourd Green Karela (Introduced varieties- Arka Harit, Arka Sumeet,
Punjab- 14 etc.)
4. Pointed gourd No improved varieties (farmer uses locally available varieties.
5. Bottle gourd Pusa Summer Prolific Long and Pusa Summer Prolific Round,
Kaveri, Anamol, Dhara, etc.
6. Pumpkin Sonar-022, Arka Suryamukhi, Arka Chandan, CO-1, CO-2
7. Watermelon Sugar Baby, Laxmi-747, Laxmi-767, Mastana, etc.
Climatic Requirements:
 Cucurbits are mostly grown in summer but pumpkin and gourds are grown both in
summer and rainy season.
 They normally require a warm and dry weather, good sunshine, low humidity and
frost free period.
 Sensitive to fluctuation in light and temperature. An abundance of light gives rise to
male flower.
 Higher temperature and long day helps in increasing the number of male flower and
reduce the number of the female flower.
 Generally the optimum temperature range for cucurbits is 18-27 °C.

Soil
 Cucurbit thrives well in a wide variety of soils.
 They do not grow well in highly acidic or alkaline soil. Soil pH should be between 6.0
and 7.0.

Field preparation: - Trench and pit preparation

They are generally grown on raised beds or pit. Trenches are prepared in well prepared field
at the distance of 1.5-3.5m. The depth of trench is kept 20-30cm with the width of 40-50cm.
During rainy season seasons, excess water is drained easily by these trenches. On these beds
(near to trench) pits of 30cm×30cm×30cm size are dug and filled with well decomposed
FYM @ 4-5kg/pit.
Manure and fertilizers:
 In cucumber, 20-25tons of well rotten FYM, 140kg Urea, 100kg SSP and 150kg MOP
are required for one hectare of land.
 Whereas gourds requires less amount of fertilizers as compared to cucumber. They
require 20-25 tons of well-decomposed FYM, 40 kg N, 20kg P and 20 kg K.
rd
Full amount of FYM, P, K and 1/3 of urea are mixed and applied as basal doses. Remaining
amount of urea should be given in two equal doses, i.e. 30 days of seedling and during start
of flowering as top dressing.

Sowing time:
In terai, summer season sowing is done from February to April and rainy season sowing is
done in June-July. Delay in sowing results in poor growth of the crops. In hills, sowing is
done during the month of March-April.
Seed rate and spacing:
The recommended seed rate and planting distance of cucurbits is given below:
Seed rate Planting Distance (cm)
Crops (kg/ha) Row to Row Plant to Plant
Cucumber 2-3 75-150 75-150
Sponge gourd 1-2 150-250 150-250
Bitter gourd 2-3 150 100
Done by cutting
Pointed gourd 2500 cuttigs/ha 200 200
Bottle gourd 4-5 200 200
Pumpkin 2-3 100-200 100-200
Watermelon 3-4 200 100
Pointed gourd is propagated by using vegetative method mainly vine cutting and root suckers.
Seed propagation is not preferred in pointed gourd because of low germinating ability. Even if,
seed germinates it is very difficult to identify and separate male or female plant before flowering.
Male plants are mostly developed when seed propagation is used. The cutting should be 1-1.5m
long and should contain at least 8-10 buds.

Sowing Method:
The seed can be sown directly in the field or on the polythene bags for raising the seedlings of
cucurbits. Two seed per hill should be sown. For off season or early crop, seedlings can be raised in
the polythene bags of 15cm × 10cm size of 100 gauge thickness and are filled with mixture of soil,
sand and FYM in equal proportions or 2:1:1 proportions depending upon the soil nature. The
polythene bags should be placed in the poly house or hot beds in order to maintain proper
temperature. 2 seeds are sown in each bags and bags should be watered daily with the help of
watering can. The seedling becomes ready to be transplanted in 25-30 days after sowing.

Cultural Practices

3G Cutting:
The ratio of male to female flowers can be maintained by an easy handy procedure called 3G
cutting which will increase the yield to a greater extent. 3G means 3rd generation i.e. to maintain
3rd generation (tertiary) branches on plant by eliminating the 1st (primary) and 2nd generation
(secondary) branches by cutting or pinching.
Procedure for 3G cutting:
1. The plant should be allowed to grow up to the height of 6-7 feet. The primary branch
produced from the seed should not be allowed to produce any secondary branches i.e.
within 5-6 lower leaves and if produced should be removed by pinching them off.
2. As the apical portion of the growing branch is cut. The plant is induced to produce the
secondary branches.
3. The secondary branches are allowed to grow up to 2-3 feet by keeping their number up to
3-4 branches.
4. When the secondary branches reach 2-3 feet height, they are again cut along the tip of
branch. This process induces the production of tertiary branches.
5. Finally the tertiary branches are allowed to grow and set fruit.
Special attention:
 Plant should be at proper sun shining area during 3G cutting.
 Soil should be adequately moist during the procedure.
 Plant may be prone to diseases due to the cut, which can be easily minimized by
maintaining sun exposure and moisture.
Drawbacks:
 Requires technical manpower with technical knowledge for 3G cutting.
 It requires regular attention and cutting.
 Cutting wound posses high risk of diseases infestation.
Bower system and training:
Training of plants on bower system is an essential practice for getting maximum yield and
uniform quality fruits in cucurbits. For preparation of bowers, bamboo, cement, wooden or iron
angle poles may be used. Pole height should be 5-6 ft from the surface of the soil and the pole are
buried 1-1.5 feet in the soil. The distance between poles should be 10 ft. Criss-cross netting is
done to make bower by wires. Bower system is useful by following ways:
 Quality fruits of uniform size may be harvested.
 Easy in harvesting.
 No rotting in fruits.
  Early intercultural operation and plant protection measures can be carried
out easily.

Irrigation:
In summer, after 4-5 leaves emergence stage, plants require irrigation regularly at 5-6 days
interval. They are slightly tolerant to drought. Three critical stages identified for irrigation are
initial vegetative growth stage, flowering stage and fruit enlarging stage.
Weeding and hoeing:
In early stage of crop, one weeding and hoeing followed by earthing up has proven to be
beneficial, especially when the vines starts spreading or in ready for training (30-40cm long
vine).
Sex expression:
Monoecious cucurbits include cucumber, watermelon, bottle gourd, pumpkin, sponge gourd, etc. and
andromonoecious sex form is common in bottle gourd, sponge gourd, etc. Fruit set and yield of the
crops depends upon the number of female flowers. Generally, male flowers open first and their
number is comparatively larger than that of female flowers. Sex ratio (male: female) ranges from 25-
30:1 to 15:1.
 High temperature, longer day light, high nitrogen fertilization etc. are the major factors
inducing maleness in cucurbits. Although sex expression and sex ratio are varietal
characteristics, they can be modified by providing suitable environment.
Usually, 2-4 true leaf stage is the critical stage for suppression or promotion of either sex. There are
several growth regulators available for sex modification and are broadly classified into two groups:

1. For promotion of male (staminate) flowers

 A single application of AgNO3 (600mg/liter of water) before opening of flower.
 Application of high concentration of gibberellic acid (GA3) (1000ppm), first at 2 leaf
stage and then after 10-15days interval.
2. For promotion of female (pistillate) flowers
nd th
 Application of Ethrel (200-250ppm) at 2 and 4 true leaf stage.
nd th
 Spray of Maleic Hydrazide (50-100ppm) at 2 and 4 true leaf stage.
 Spray of 100ppm of 2-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 2 ppm boron, 50ppm 2,3,5 tri-
iodobenzoic acid (TBA)

Harvesting and yield:

As seed development is undesirable in cucurbits, harvesting of its fruits at right time is
important.
Crops Maturity days Yield Picking
(ton/ha) interval
Cucumber 60-70 days after sowing 28 3-4 days
Sponge
60-90 days after sowing 19 3-4 days
gourd
Bitter gourd 55-100 days after sowing 35 2-3 days
Pointed
80-90 days after transplanting 14-15 2-3 days
gourd
Bottle gourd 60-100 days after sowing 40 3-4 days
Watermelon
75-100 days after sowing 25-30 5-6 days
Plant Protection:
A. Insect pests of Cucurbits:
1. Red pumpkin beetle (Aulacophora foveicollis):

They are elongated orange beetles which feed upon the leaves of cucurbits.
Damage:
 They attack mostly at seedling stage. The adult feed upon older leaves of a plant by
scrapping off their chlorophyll leading to net like appearance.
 They feed voraciously upon leaf and make irregular holes on leaf.
Control:
 Follow field sanitation.
 To avoid the damage, sowing of crops should be done during November.
 Use neemicide @ 2ml/liter for 2-3 times at 10-15 days interval.
 Application of Malathion @ ml/liter.

2. Fruit fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae)

Maggota (larva) of this fly cause severe damage to the young cucurbits. Male has rounded
abdomen where as female has sharp needle like projection called ovipositor.
Damage:
 Penetrate the fruit and lay eggs below the skin of young fruits.
 At the puncturing time, female release gummy substance to plug th e hole to protect its
progeny.
 The eggs inside the fruit hatches and feed inside the fruit.
 Causes fruit to rot.
Control:
 Collect and destroy the affected fruit by burrowing deep in the ground.
 Bagging of growing fruits also minimizes fruit fly infestation and increases the net returns
by 40 to 58%.
 Use of protein bait: Wheat flour, maize flour or rice flour which is mixed with molasses
and mix toxicant called spinosad. It attracts large mass of female and male which in turn
is killed.
 Use fruit fly trap. Trap is made up of plastic bottles with hole on two sides for the entry of
adult insects. In order to attract the male fruit fly, cue lure containing cotton swab ( 10
drops of Cue lure and few drops of Malathion 50 EC) is applied inside the trap. Cue lure
needs change at every two weeks interval with same dose of cue lure and Malathion.
  Use of food based pan trap: use of pieces of ripening pumpkin fruit mixed with malathion.
Molasses can be used to increase efficiency.
 Male-sterile technique is accomplished through eradication, chemo-sterilization or by
genetic manipulation for eradication of this pest.

3. Epilachna or Hadda beetle (Epilachna vigintioctopunctata):

The grub and adult causes severe damage to leaves of various cucurbits.
Damage:
 The larva and adult feed on the green matter of leaves giving a lace like appearance.
Control:
 Collect them mechanically and destroy.
 Shake plants to dislodge grubs, pupae and adults in a kerosenated water early in the
morning.
 Chlorpyriphos 1.5ml/liter and spray on the crop which reduces the population by nearly
95% in field.

B. Diseases of Cucurbits:
1. Powdery Mildew(erysiphe cichoracearum):
Damage:
 Symptoms firstly appear on the under surface
of the older leaves as white fluffy circular
spots which increase in size and number,
coalesce and cover both the surfaces.
 Fungus attacks the leaves, stem and fruits.
 Severely attacked leaves become brown and
shrivelled.
Controls:
 Growing of resistant varieties
 Destroy the crop debris , removal of alternate
host
 Early sowing
 Biological control: Ampelomyces quisqualis, Tilletiopsis minor hyperparasite against
powdery mildew.
 Spray Karathene 1.5ml/l.
2. Downey mildew:
Damage:
 Primarily a leaf disease causing pale yellow spots
on the lower surface.
 Affected leaves become deformed, dry and
ultimately fall.
 Central leaves attacked more usually.
 Fruits are not directly attacked but in severe
 infection, few fruit develop and that appear small and misshapen.
 Lower surface infected than younger.
Management:
 Early sowing to escape rainfall.
 Destruction of crop debris that is the habitat of oospore is a good practice.
 Crop rotation for 2-3 years.
 Maintain wider spacing so that RH is lowered down.
 Balanced use of fertilizer.
 Use of resistant varieties: Cucumber: summer prolific
 Seed treatment with carbendazim.
 No heavy density planting during seed bed preparation.
 Spraying Bordeaux mixture 4:4:50.
 After the disease is established, systemic fungicides Ridomil MZ (0.25%).

3. Fruit rot:
Damage:
 Water soaked lesions seen in the stem and
leaves extending upwards and downwards
causing the tissue to rot and even collapse the
plant.
 The fungus causes rotting of the fruits which
have direct contact with the ground.
Management:
 Avoid over irrigation.
 Seed treatment with Bavistin or Thiram @ 2gm/kg of seed before sowing.
 Regular field inspection and proper bower system prevents from fruit rot.

4. Leaf spot (Xanthomonas cucurbitae):

Damage:
 Water soaked spots appear on the lower surface. The opposite upper surface of leaf
turns brown to yellow and chloratic areas are formed around the spots. The disease is
more severe in cucumber.
Management:
 Adopt proper field sanitation measures.
 Spray streptomycine (400ppm) or bourdex mixture.
5. Yellow vein mosaic virus:
Damage:
 The major symptom of this disease is
yellowing of veins.
 Stunted plant growth.
 Deformation of leaves.
Management:
 Eradicate the infected plants.
 Control the vector to lower the disease spread.