Botanical Name: Luffa acutangula
Varieties:
Haritham:High yielding. Light green large cylindrical fruits with typical ridges and tapering towards the base.
CO 2:Green long fruits with an average length of 45-50cm. Fruits are with broadened tip and average weight of 700g.
Arka Sujat:Heavy yielder. Good market acceptance.
Deepthi:Green fruits with intermediate lustre and tapered stem-end. Field resistance to mosaic and downy mildew diseases
Climate & Soil: Warm humid climate. Well-drained sandy loam or silt loam soil.
Season: May-Jun, Sept-Dec, Jan-Mar.
Seed rate: 1.5-2 Kg/ha
Spacing: Pit size of 60 X 30-45 cm are taken at a spacing of 2 x 2 m and seeds are sown @ 4-5 per pit. Unhealthy plants are removed after two weeks and only 3 plants are retained per pit.
Nutrient management : Apply FYM @ 20-25 t/ha as basal dose along with half dose of N (35 kg) and full doses of P2O5 (25 kg) and K2O (25 kg). The remaining dose of N (35 kg) can be applied in several split doses at fortnightly intervals.
Crop Management: Erect pandals when the plants start vining.Pandals have to be erected at a height of 6-8 feet using bamboo stakes and G.I. wire. Conduct weeding and irrigation whenever necessary.
Pest Management :

• Jassid, White flies, Aphids : Sucks sap from the lower side of the leaf. Apply Neem oil emulsion 2.5% with garlic paste(20g/l)/ Malathion 50 EC(2ml/l) with garlic paste(20g/l).
• Fruit fly : Adult flies puncture the fruits with the ovipositor and insert the eggs inside the fruits. Maggots feed on the fruits which get rotten . Bait traps with carbofuran granules, Malathion 50 EC (2 ml per litre), Field sanitation.
• Epilachna beetle : Both adult and grubs scrape the leaf lamina and skeletanise the leaves. Malathion 50 EC (2 ml per litre), mechanical control
• Pumpkin Caterpillar, Semi looper : Feeds on the leaf and bore the fruits 1l Kiriyath extract + 1 l of cow’s urine in 10 litres of water, add 10 g of green chilli paste.
• American serpentine leaf miner : Eats away the chlorophyll of the leaves leaving snake like white scars. Neem oil emulsion at 2.5%.
• Pumpkin beetle : Adults feed on the leaves and grubs bore the roots. Apply neem cake,Soil drenching - Ekalux (2ml/l)

Disease Management :

• Downy mildew : Yellow spots on the upper surface and water soaked fungal spots on the lower surface of leaves. Dithane M.45 ( 4g/l), Field sanitation.
• Powdery mildew : Ashy spots on the leaves and stem. Bavistin (4g/l), Field sanitation.
• Mosaic : Yellow and green mottled appearance. Control the vector insects- White flies, jassids, Field sanitation.
>

Harvesting: The harvesting of fruits can be done in tender stages. The first harvest can be done 55-60 days after sowing.
Yield: 15 - 20 t/ha.
Post Harvesting: Picking should be done once in two days. The fruits are to be handled carefully to avoid damage. The fruits are then graded and packed in bamboo baskets or cartons without causing damage. Covering baskets with moistened jute bags will reduce the rate of physiological activities.
Seed Collection: