It is a popular vegetable crop of tropical as well subtropical countries. It is grown in summer as well as in rainy season. It is also known as” Halwa Kaddu” or “Kaddu” in hindi and it belongs to cucurbitaceae family. India is the second largest producer of pumpkin. It is consumed at mature as well as at immature stage. It is used for cooking purpose andused to make sweets. Along with fruits, its leaves, stem are used for vegetable purpose. It is good source of Vitamin A and potassium. Pumpkin also possess medicinal property i.e. it helps to boost eye vision, lowers blood pressure and has antioxidant properties. It reduced cholesterol level.

Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orrisa, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are major pumpkin growing states of India.

In Maharashtra, it is cultivated in almost every district. Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara, Nashik and Ahmadnagar are major pumpkin growing areas of Maharashtra.

It can be cultivated on various soil but It give best results when grown on sandy loamy to loamy soil having good drainage system with high organic matter. Soil pH of 6-7 is optimum for pumpkin cultivation. 

CO 2: Released in 1974. The average weight of each fruit is 1.5-2kg. The fruit contains orange color flesh. It gives an average yield of 100qtl/acre. The variety gets mature in 135 days.

CO 1: Few seeded, round variety. Ready to harvest in 140days. 

Arka Suryamukhi: Fruits are round, small and orange-yellow color. Resistant to fruit fly. Ready to harvest in 115days. Gives average yield of 140qtl/acre.

Arka Chandan: Released by IIHR, Bangalore. It has round shaped fruits which contains orange color flesh. The fruit has an average weight of 2-3kg each. The variety gets mature in 115-120 days. It gives an average yield of 135qtl/acre.

Other state varieties:

PPH-1: Released in 2016. Extra early maturing variety. They have dwarf vines, short internodal length and dark green color leaves. It contains small fruits which are round in shape. The fruit is mottled green in color when immature and at maturity stage it becomes mottled brown in color. Fruit contains golden yellow color flesh. It gives an average yield of 206qtl/acre.

PPH-2: Released in 2016. Extra early maturing variety. They have dwarf vines, short intermodal length and green color leaves. It contains small fruits which are round in shape. The fruit is light green in color when immature and at maturity stage it becomes smooth brown in color. Fruit contains golden yellow color flesh. It gives an average yield of 222qtl/acre.

Punjab Samrat (Released in 2008):They have medium long vines, angular stem and dark green color leaves. It contains small fruits which are round in shape. The fruit is mottled green in color when immature and at maturity stage it becomes pale brown in color. Fruit contains golden yellow color flesh. It gives an average yield of 165qtl/acre.

Ambili: Spreading variety, fruits are flat, round and green. Gives average yield of 6-15kg/plant. 

Pusa Alankar: Released by IARI. Early hybrid variety which gets mature in 40-50 days. It gives an average yield of 95-100qtl/acre.

Kashi Dhawal: Ready to harvest in 120days. Gives average yield of 220-240qtl/acre. 

Kashi Ujjawal: Round fruits with white flesh. Ready to harvest in 110-120days. Gives average yield of 220-240qtl/acre.

Pusa Vishwas: Released by IARI. Recommended for sub-humid climates. It has spherical fruits which are medium in size and has an average weight of 5kg each. The variety gets mature in 120days. It gives an average yield of 80-100qtl/acre.

Well prepared land is required for pumpkin farming. To bring the soil to fine tilth, plough land for two – three times. At time of last ploughing, add FYM or well decomposed cow dung@10-12kg per acre in soil. 

Time of sowing:

For summer season, sow seeds in January – March month. And for kharif season, complete sowing in June -July month.

Spacing:

In summer, sow seeds keeping row to row spacing of 1.5 meter and plant to plant spacing of 75cm.

Where as for kharif season, use 1.5meter row spacing and 0.9-1.2meter as plant spacing.

Sowing depth:

Sow seeds at depth of 2.5cm to 5cm.

Method of sowing:

• Direct sowing

Seed rate:

For sowing  of one acre land, use seed rate of 500gm/acre. 

Seed treatment:

Treat seeds with Carbendazim or Mancozeb@3gm/kg of seed is used to cure from soil borne diseases. 

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Application of cow dung@80-90qtl/acre is done at the time of land preparation. Overall pumpkin crop required Nitrogen@32kg in form of Urea@70kg/acre, Phosphorus@10kg in form of SSP@125kg/acre and Potash@20kg inform of MoP@34kg/acre.

Apply half dose of Nitrogen and full dose of Phosphorus and Potassium at time of sowing. Apply remaining dose of Nitrogen at time of flower formation.

Use of Growth Hormone: Ten to fifteen days after sowing take spray of Ethrel@250ppm@2.5ml/10Ltr of water, three -four times with interval of seven days.   

In rainy season it does not required irrigation. Provide water depending upon rainfall intensity. In summer season, Immediate irrigation is required after seed sowing.  Afterward apply irrigation at four to five days intervals. In total 8-10 irrigation are required.

To control the weeds, frequent weeding or earthing up operation is required. Weeding is done with the help of hoe or by hands. First weeding is done after 2-3 weeks of seed sowing. In total 3-4 weeding are required to make the field weed free. 

• Pests and their control:

Aphids and Thrips: They suck the sap from the leaves resulting in yellowing and drooping of leaves. Thrips results in curling of leaves, leaves become cup shaped or curved upward.

If infestation is observed in field, to control spray the crop with Thiamethoxam@5gm/15Ltr of water.

Pumpkin flies: They cause sunken brown color spots on fruits and white maggot gets develop on the fruit.

Foliar application of Neem oil @3.0% is given to cure the crop from fruit fly pest.

• Diseases and their control:

Powdery mildew: Patchy, white powdery growth appears on upper surface of leaves also on main stem of infected plant. It parasitizes the plant using it as a food source. In severe infestation it causes defoliation and premature fruit ripening.

If infestation is observed take spray of water soluble Sulphur@20gm/10Ltr of water 2-3 times with interval of 10 days.

Downy mildew: Caused by Pseudopernospora cubensis. Symptoms are mottling and purplish color spots are seen on lower surface of the leaves.

If infestation is observed, 400gm Dithane M-45 or Dithane Z-78 is used to get rid of this disease.

Anthracnose: Anthracnose affected foliage appears scorched appearance.

As a preventive measure, treat seed with Carbendazim@2gm/kg of seed. If infestation is observed in field, take spray of Mancozeb@2gm or Carbendazim@3gm/liter of water.

Wilt: Root rotting is a result of this disease.

If infestation is observed then drenching with M-45@400gm mixed 100ltr of water is done.

Harvesting is mainly done when skin of the fruits turns pale brown in color and the inner flesh becomes golden yellow in color. Mature fruits having good storage capacity therefore they can be used for long distance transportation. Harvesting of immature fruits is also done for sale purpose. 

Harvesting is mainly done when skin of the fruits turns pale brown in color and the inner flesh becomes golden yellow in color. Mature fruits having good storage capacity therefore they can be used for long distance transportation. Harvesting of immature fruits is also done for sale purpose.