Bottle gourd

Local name: Lau

Scientific name: Lagenaria siceraria

Lagenaria siceraria, bottle gourd is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable in our country, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe in many countries. For this reason, it is widely known as the bottle gourd. The fresh fruit has a light green smooth skin and a white flesh. Rounder varieties are called calabash gourds. They come in a variety of shapes, they can be huge and rounded, or small and bottle shaped, or slim and more than a meter long.

Production technology of  Bottle gourd

Season: Bottle gourd can be successfully grown during January-March and Sept-December. For the rain fed crop, sowing can also be started after the receipt of the first few showers during May-June.

Seed rate: 3-4 kg/ha.

Preparation of land:Pits of 60 cm diameter and 30-45 cm depth are taken at 3m x 3m spacing for growing on pandals. For trailing on the ground, make pits at a spacing of 2 m in rows 3-4 m apart. Well rotten FYM and fertilizers are mixed with topsoil in the pit.

Sowing:Four or five seeds are sown per pit. Re move unhealthy plants after two weeks and retain three plants per pit.

Manuring:Apply farm yard manure at the rate of 20-25 t/ha as basal dose along with half dose of N (35 kg) and full dose of P₂O₅(25 kg) and K₂O (25 kg/ha). The remaining dose of N (35 kg) can be applied in several split doses at fortnightly intervals.

After cultivation:During the initial stages of growth, irrigate at an interval of three or four days.Irrigate on alternate days during flowering periods. Trailing can be done either on pandais or on the ground.Conduct weeding and raking of the soil at the time of fertilizer application. Earthing up may be done during rainy season.

Harvesting: 130-135 days after sowing.

Pests:The important pests are- Epilachna beetle,   Red pumpkin beetle,  Fruit Fly and  Plant Lice.

Diseases:Important diseases in bottle gourd are-  Downy Mildew,  Powdery Mildew and  Mosaic.

Harvesting can be done only after 10 days (at least) of insecticide / fungicide application. The fruits should be washed thoroughly in water before cooking.