cultural practice of sponge gourd

2. • Botanical name: Luffa cylindrica
• Other names: Sponge gourd,Egyptian cucumber,
or Vietnamese luffa.
• Local names in India:- Gilki / Chikni Turai/ Ghiatori (Hindi),
Jhinga (Bengali), Janhi (Oriya), Neti Beerakaya (Telugu).
Heeray kayi (Kannada), Peechinga (Malayalam),Pirkanga
(Tamil).
• Species : Luffa
• Family: Cucurbitaceae
• Origin: South Asia
and South east Asia

3. High Sponge Gourd Production Sates of India:-
•U.P., Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana
and Delhi.
• Cultivated for its fruit. The plant is an annual vine.
• Similar to ridge gourd. The only difference is sponge gourd
has smooth surface.

4. Uses:
• Fully developed tender fruits used as cooked vegetables.
• Fully ripe sponge gourds have high volume of fibrous which
is being used as cleansing agent (utensils) and making shoe-
soles, table mats.
Health benefits:-
• Has laxative properties
• Good source of vitamin “A” and “C”.
• Cure for jaundice
• An excellent blood purifier
• Good for diabetes
• Helps in aiding weight loss
• Boosts the immune system
• Good for skin.

5. Types and Varieties of Sponge Gourd in India:-
There are number of local varieties are grown in India.
• Pusa Chikni -high yielding and early maturing variety. It bears in
40 to 50 days, shape of fruit is cylindrical and colour is dark green,
suitable to grow throughout India.
• Pusa Supriya - recommended for Punjab, U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand,
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi regions.
• Pusa Sneha- This variety is recommended for NCR region.
• Azad Taroi -1- This variety is recommended for Uttar Pradesh
region.
• Azad Taroi-2- This variety is recommended for Punjab, Tarai
region of U.P., Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
• Phule Prajakta- dual season, dark green, yield 15 t/ha.

6. Climate Required
• Can be grown from tropical to subtropical climatic conditions, thrive
best in warm and humid conditions.
• Cool weather or low temperatures and frost not suitable for growth.
Soil Requirement
• Can be grown on wide range of soils.
• Grows best in well-drained loamy soils with the pH value of 6.5 to 7.0
or neutral to slightly alkaline soil.
Land Preparation
• Bring the soil to the fine tilth stage and weed free by giving couple of
ploughing.
• Supplementing the soil with well rotten farm yard manure (FMY) will
result in good yield and quality. Add an about 20 tonnes of farm yard
manure per 1 hectare land.

7. Propagation :- Propagation of sponge gourd is done through seeds.
Sowing, Spacing and Planting :- If you are planning for summer
season crop, sponge gourd seeds should be sown in pits where as in
other seasons, they should be sown in beds.
Seed rate of 4kg is well enough to cover the 1 hectare land. Row
spacing of 2 meter should be adopted.
Sowing 2 to 3 seeds in each pit is preferred in sponge gourd
cultivation.
Manures and Fertilizers :- Add the farm yard manure of 20 tonnes
while preparing the land and in-organic fertilizers of N:P:K in the ratio
of 25:35:30 kg/ha land.
It is recommended to apply 30 kg /ha ‘N’ at
flowering stage.

8. Irrigation :- Generally, irrigation should be given based on soil
type and weather conditions.
In long dry weather conditions, irrigation should be carried
twice a week and in rainy season, there is no need of irrigation.
In extreme hot areas, mulching can be practiced to prevent the
water loss or control the weeds.
Inter cultural operations and Weed Control :- To control any
weeds, the first step should be mulching and then weedicides.
Spraying Ethrel of 250 ppm at 4 leaf stage can produce
more female flowers and the yield.
During the rainy season, these plants should be trained by
stalking .

9. Harvesting :- Sponge gourd vegetable should be
harvested in tender stage without any delay.
• Delayed harvesting will lead to fibrous and non
consumable fruits.
• Over mature fruits can be used for industrial
purpose.
Yield :- Yield always depends on the cultivation
practices and the variety. An average yield of 160 to
200 quintals per hectare can be obtained.

10. Main pests: Beetles, fruit flies and caterpillars.
How to control : Spray Trichlorofon 50% EC 1.0 ml/l or
Dichlorvos 76% EC 6.5 ml/10 l. lindane 1.3% dust, copper
and sulphur dust as these are phytotoxic.
Main Diseases : Powder mildew & Downy mildew.
Downy mildew
Control: spray Mancozeb or Chlorothalonil 2 grams /l twice
at 10 days interval.
Powdery mildew –
Control: spray Dinocap 1 ml/lit. or Carbendazim 0.5 grams/l.
Pests and Diseases in Ridge gourd farming:-

11. Red pumpkin beetle
Epilacna beetle Fruit fly