Bottle gourd is also known as “lauki” and it belongs to family “Cucurbitaceae”. It is an annual climbing vine which has vigorous growth. The plant bears white color flowers which bears fleshy and bottle shaped fruits. The fruit is used for cooking purpose. Also, it is good for health as it possesses medicinal property. It helps in better digestion, reduces sugar level and constipation, cures insomnia and urinary infections and is good remedy for treating insomnia.

It is grown in variety of soils. It gives best result when grown in sandy loam to loamy soil.

Pusa Summer Prolific Long: Released by IARI, New Delhi. The plant attains the height of 60-70cm. fruits are light green in color, which has an average weight of 1.5kg per fruit. It is suitable for sowing in kharif and rabi season. It is suitable for sowing in whole India.

Pusa Summer Prolific Round: Released by IARI, New Delhi. The fruits are round and light in color, which have an average weight of 1.25kg per fruit. It gives good yield in kharif season. The variety matures in 80-85 days.

Pusa Meghdoot: Released by IARI, New Delhi. The variety is formed by the cross breeding between “Pusa Summer Prolific Long” and “Pusa Summer Prolific Round”. It gives an average yield of 105qtl/acre. The variety matures in 80-85 days.

Pusa Manjri: Released by IARI, New Delhi. The variety is formed by the cross breeding between “Pusa Summer Prolific Long” and “Pusa Summer Prolific Round”. It gives an average yield of 107qtl/acre. The variety matures in 80-85 days.

Pusa Naveen: Released by IARI, New Delhi. The variety is suitable for sowing in summer and rainy season. It has straight fruits, smooth and green in color which is 20-25cm long. It gives an average yield of 166-208qtl/acre.

Pusa Sandesh: Released by IARI, New Delhi. It has green color fruits, round and medium in size (800gm). The variety is suitable for sowing both in summer and rainy season. The fruits mature in 60-65 days in summers and 55-60 days in rainy season. It gives an average yield of 125-137qtl/acre.

Pant hybrid Lauki-1: Released by GBPAU, Pantnagar. It has green color fruits which are medium in size, long and the variety matures after 60 days of sowing. It is suitable for sowing in hilly and plain areas of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It gives an average yield of 166qtl/acre.

Pant hybrid Lauki-2: Released by GBPAU, Pantnagar. It has green color fruits which are medium in size, and is cylindrical in shape. It is suitable for sowing in hilly and plain areas of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In plain areas sowing is done in March-June month and in hilly areas sowing is done in March-April month. It gives an average yield of 166qtl/acre.

For bottle gourd farming, well prepared land is used. To bring the soil to fine tilth, ploughing followed by harrowing is done.
 

Time of sowing:
In plain areas sowing is done in Feb-March month and in hilly areas sowing is done in June-July month.

Spacing:
Use row spacing of 200cm and plant spacing of 100cm.

Sowing depth:
2.5cm deep seeds are sown.

 

Seed rate:
For one acre land, use seed rate of 0.8 to 1kg of seeds.

Seed treatment:
Seed is treated with Bavistin@0.2% @3gm/kg of seeds to protect the seeds from soil borne fungus.
 

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Apply well decomposed cow dung @42qtl/acre before preparations of bed. Application of fertilizer dose urea@20kg/acre (Nitrogen@9kg/acre),DAP@16kg/acre (Phosphorus@2kg/acre) and MOP@16kg/acre (Potash@9kg/acre) is given at the time of first picking stage.

In kharif season it does not required irrigation. if needed then provide irrigation. Also, avoid water stagnation in field. Provide proper drainage. In summer season, after sowing, immediate irrigation is necessary. In summer, it required 6-7 irrigations. Apply them with interval of 4-7days.

To control the weeds, 2-3 hoeings are required at the initial stages of plant growth. Weeding operations are carried out at the time of fertilizer application. Earthing up is also an effective way which should be carried out in rainy season. To control, weed chemically, take spray of Pendimethalin@1.40Ltr/acre in 400Ltr of water, within 48hours after seed sowing.

• Pest and their control:
  

Fruit fly: They feed themselves on internal tissues of fruits which cause premature fruit dropping and rotting and yellowing of fruits.
Treatment: Spray with Carbaryl@10% @ 600-700gm in 150ltr water per acre.
 

Aphids: They suck the sap of the plant which results in curling and crinkling of leaves.
Treatment: Spray of Dimethoate@200-250ml in 150ltr water is done to get rid of aphids.
 

Pumpkin beetles: The beetles destroy the roots by feeding on themselves.
Treatment: Spray with Carbaryl@10% @ 600-700gm in 150ltr water per acre.
 

Epilachna beetle: The grubs destroy the plant parts by feeding on them.
Treatment: Spray with Carbaryl@10% @ 600-700gm in 150ltr water per acre.
 

• Disease and their control:
  

Downy mildew: Chlorotic spots are the symptoms of this disease.
Treatment: Spray with Mancozeb@400gm in 150ltr water per acre.
 

Powdery mildew: Small, white color spots are seen on leaves and stems are the symptoms of this disease.
Treatment: Spraying of M-45 or Z-78@400-500gm is used to get rid of this disease.
 

Mosaic: The disease causes stunted growth and yield gets reduced.
Treatment: Spray of Dimethoate@200-250ml in 150ltr water is done to get rid of mosaic.
 

Depending upon variety and season, crop is ready for harvesting in 60-70days. Depending upon market requirement, medium and tender fruits are harvested. Mature fruits are mostly stored for seed production purpose. Cut the fruits from vines with help of sharp knife. In peak season, picking should be done in every 3-4 days.

Keep isolation distance of 800m from other varieties of sponge gourd. Remove diseased plants from the field. For seed production, the fruits are harvested when they get physiologically mature. Three field inspections are required for the production of true to type seed. After harvesting, fruits are dried and then seeds are extracted.