3. Why tunnel technology?
At the time of Independence total population of Pakistan was
about 3crore and sixty lacs
As the population increased the requirement of food also
increased to many folds
Now the population is 22 crores and according to the size of
population there is too much requirement of food which
cannot be meet by field agriculture
Therefore there was need to increase food. So tunnel
technology was adapted
4. What is tunnel Technology?
It is modern technology that provides out of
season vegetables and fruits
The vegetables grown in tunnel include
capsicum, chilly, bitter gourd, pumpkin ,
tomato and cucumber
The fruits include water melon and musk
melon
5. Types of tunnel
Low Tunnel:
Its height from land is upto 3 feet
The iron rod of 10 feet is used
This iron rod is bend upto 3 feet vertically
The size of rod is 2-3cm
Black and white plastic sheets are used to cover the
tunnel
The crops grown in it include water melon, musk
melon and pumpkin etc
6.
7. Types of Tunnels
Walk in tunnel:
Its height is upto 7 feet
There also iron rod is used
. Black and white plastic sheets are used to cover
the tunnel
The size or width of rod is half inch
Crops grown in walk in tunnel include tomato,
capsicum, chilly, bitter gourd and egg plant etc
8.
9. Types of tunnels
High Tunnel:
Its height is upto 16-18feet
Iron rod and bamboo are used in it. Black and white
plastic sheets are used to cover the tunnel
The size of rod used is 1 inch or more than 1 inch
It is fixed tunnel
Crops grown include cucumber, tomato and bitter
gourd
The management practices performed by tractor are
easy because tractor can pass through tunnel easily
10.
11. Crops grown
As discussed earlier crops grown in tunnels include include
capsicum, chilly, bitter gourd, pumpkin , tomato and cucumber
Inspite of these crops the nurseries are also grown
The only nurseries grown include tomato, capsicum and chilly
The date of these crops and nurseries is 1 October to 30 October
Then the nursery is transplanted into field in November
The plant to plant distance should be maintained at 45cm in all
crops and 30cm in cucumber
Row to row distance of cucumber, tomato, water melon and
muskmelon should be 150cm and 240cm in bitter gourd and
pumpkin
12. Selection of land
Soil should be free from salinity
It should have good drainage
Water holding capacity should be good
Land should be near to irrigation system
There should be system to remove surplus rain
water
It should be opened. It should not be under shade
Loamy sand is best for crop growth
13. Preparation of land
Organic matter or farm yard manure should be
added and mix it well
Before nursery plantation NPK should be applied as
10:50:10 one month earlier
To avoid termite attack at irrigation time proper
poison should be applied
Soil should be covered with plastic sheet before 7-8
days of plantation
Land should be levelled
Soil of pH7.5 should be selected
14. Plant population
1. High tunnel:
Number of plants of cucumber per tunnel should be 1248-1664
Number of plants of tomato per tunnel should be 996-1248
Number of plants of bitter gourd per tunnel should be 828
2. Walk in tunnel
Number of plants of cucumber per tunnel should be 552
Number of plants of tomato per tunnel should be 276
Number of plants of bitter gourd per tunnel should be 276
Number of plants of capsicum per tunnel should be 499
Number of plants of chilly per tunnel should be 499
Number of plants of pumpkin per tunnel should be 276
15. Plant population
3. Low Tunnel:
Number of plants of bitter gourd per tunnel should be 138
Number of plants of musk melon per tunnel should be
138 plants
Number of plants of water melon per tunnel should be
208
Number of plants of pumpkin per tunnel should be 138
plants
16. Irrigation
There are two types of irrigation
First is flooding and
The other is drip irrigation through pipes
Irrigation is done after 4-5 days of previous irrigation
In flooding fertilizer is applied in the form of drops
from a tank
In drip irrigation fertilizer is applied through the main
unit
17. Yield
It has very high yield
For example tomato’s one plant gives above one
mound yield
Similarly cucumber yield on average is above one
mound per plant
Bitter gourd 30-35kg per plant on average
Yield of chilly and capsicum is 25-30kg per plant
Yield of water melon is 20-25kg per plant
Yield of musk melon is 15-20kg per plant
18. Harmful Insect pests
i. Aphid
ii. Jassid
iii. Thrips
iv. White fly
v. Red mite
vi. Cut worm
vii. Army worm
viii. Fruit borer
ix. Leaf minor
x. Red pumpkin beetle
xi. Termite
xii. Melon fruit fly
19. Control of harmful insects
i. Chemical control
ii. Physical control
iii. Cultural control
iv. Biological control
20. Diseases
i. Powdry mildew
ii. Downy mildew
iii. Wilt
iv. Bacterial wilt
v. Verticillum wilt
vi. Fusarium wilt
vii. Crown rot
viii. Root rot
ix. Collor rot
x. Anthracnose
xi. Die back
xii. Tomato leaf curl virus
