Snake Gourd
Botanical Name - Trichosanthes cucumerina. L.
Family - Cucurbitaceae

1.CO.1 (1976):

• It is a pure line selection from a local type of Alangulam. 
• The fruits are 160-180cm long
• Dark green skin with white stripes with in yield potential of 18 t/ha  in a crop duration of 135 days.

2. CO.2 (1986):

• It is pure line selection from local type of Coimbatore district. 
• Fruits are short (30-35cm)
• Stout, light greenish white without stripes and have a ashy bloom on the surface.
• Yield potential is 25-30 t/ha in 125-130 days
• 3.PKM 1:
• It is a induced mutant from H375 with in yield potential of 25 t /ha in 135-140 days.
• The fruits are extra long (180-200cm)

Other Variety

  PLR 1, PLR 2 and Baby.

Soil –

Sandy loam rich in organic matter with good drainage and a pH range of 6.5-7.5.

Climate –

•  It requires a minimum temperature of 18^oC during early growth, but optimal temperatures are in the range of 24–27^oC.
• Snake gourd tolerates a wide range of soil but prefers a well drained sandy loam soil that is rich in organic matter.

• July and January are highly suitable for cultivation.
• Sow the seeds (3 seeds/pit) treated with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g/kg or Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 10 g/kg or carbendazim @ 2 g/kg and thin the seedlings to two per pit after 15 days.

1.5 kg/ha.

• Plough the field to fine tilth.
• Dig pits of size 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm at 2.5 x 2 m spacing and form basins.

• Apply 10 kg of FYM, 100 g of NPK 6:12:12 mixture as basal dose per pit and N @ 10 g pit 30 days after sowing.
• Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria @ 2 kg/ha and Pseudomonas 2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg/ha and neem cake @ 100 kg/ha before last ploughing.

• Hoe and weed thrice. Provide stakes for the plants to reach the pandal (2 m).
• Spray Ethrel 100 ppm (1 ml in 10 lit of water) four times starting from 10 to 15 days after sowing at weekly intervals.

Nursery raising

• Sow the snake gourd seeds in protrays containing well decomposed cocopeat
  medium.
• Sow only one seed per cell.
• Keep the trays under shadenet house.
• Water regularly with the help of rose can.
• Transplant about 12 days old seedlings to main field.

• Spread the lateral tubes on the raised beds of 120 cm wide at 150 cm spacing.
• Irrigate the beds by operating the drip system continuously for 8-12 hrs.
• Plant the seedlings in the holes made at 60 cm spacing.

• Apply a dose of 75:100:100 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split application.
• Apply 75% of the phosphorus as superphosphate as basal dose.

1.Fruit flies: Bactrocera cucurbitae

Management:

• Collect infested and fallen fruits and bum in deep pits.
• Expose the pupae by ploughing and turning over soil after harvest
• Use ribbed gourd as trap crop and apply carbaryl 0.15% or malathion 0.1% on congregating adult flies on the undersurface of leaves.
• Use attractants like citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, vinegar (acetic acid), and lactic acid to trap flies.

2.Pumpkin beetles: Aulacophora foveicollis

Symptoms of damage:

• Grubs feeds on the roots, stem and fruits touching the soil
• Adult feeds on leaf and flowers.

Management:

• Plough the fields just after harvesting destroy the hibernating adults
• Collect and destroy adult beetles
• Spray malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml or dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml or methyl demeton 25 EC@ 500 ml/ ha

3.Stem borer : Melittia eurytion

Symptoms of damage:

• Larva bores into  the stem of snake gourd and produces galls

Management:

• Collect and destroy the damaged plant parts with larvae
• Encourage activity of parasitoid: Apanteles spp.
• Spray any following insecticides
  • malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml
  • dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml
  • methyl demeton 25 EC @ 500 ml/ ha

4.Stem gall fly: Neolasioptera falcata

Symptoms of damage:

• Maggots bore into the distal shoot and form galls

Management:

• Spray any following insecticides
  • Malathion 50 EC @ 500 ml
  • Dimethoate 30 EC 500 ml
  • Methyl demeton 25 EC @ 500 ml/ ha

5.Snake gourd semilooper: Plusia peponis

Symptoms of damage:

• The caterpillar cuts the edges  of  leaf lamina, folds it over the  leaf and feeds from within leaf roll

Management:

• Collect and destroy the caterpillars
• Encourage activity of Apanteles taragamae, A. plusiae
•  Spray any following insecticides
  
  • Malathion 50 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Dimethoate 30 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Methyl demeton 25 EC @500 ml/ha

6.Pumpkin caterpillar: Diaphania indica

Symptoms of damage:

• Young larva scrapes the cholorophyll content
• Later on it folds and webs the leaves and feeds within
• It also feeds on flowers and bores into developing fruits

Management:

• Collect and destroy early stage caterpillars
• Encourage activity of parasioid: Apanteles spp.
• Spray any following insecticides
  
  • Malathion 50 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Dimethoate 30 EC @500 ml/ha
  • Methyl demeton 25 EC @500 ml/ha

7.Bottle gourd plume moth: Sphenarches caffer

8.Leaf miner: Liriomyza trifolii

1.Nitrogen

Deficiency Symptoms

• Apical growing points stop developing leaves thick brittle and irregular chlorosis.

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of Borax 0.5 % at fortnightly intervals

2.Potassium

Deficiency Symptoms

• Older leaves affected first.
• Leaf tips and margins turn yellow and then become scorched continuing inward to the leaf center.
• Leaf margin cup downward interveinal leaf necrosis restricted growth.

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of K2SO4 @1 % at fortnightly intervals

3.Magnesium

Deficiency Symptoms

• Apical growing points stop developing leaves thick brittle and irregular chlorosis.

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of Borax 0.5 % at fortnightly intervals

4.Manganese

Deficiency Symptoms

• Symptoms seen in young leaves; leaves become pale yellow

Correction Measure

• Foliar spray of MnSO4 @0.5 % at fortnightly intervals

• Apply Neem cake @ 30g/plant as spot treatment 10 days prior to sowing.
• Soil application of P. fluorescens @ 2.5kg/ha

Symptoms

• Symptoms resembling mosaic viz, pale green areas separated by dark green areas appear on upper surface of leaf.
• During wet season, corresponding lower surface is covered with faint purplish fungal growth.
• The entire leaf dries up quickly.

Management

• Use of bed system with wide spacing with good drainage and air movement and exposure to sun help to check the disease development.
• Spray with Moncozeb 0.2 % or Chlorothalonil 0.2% or Difolaton 0.2% or Ridomil MZ 72 0.1%
• Seed treatment with Apron SD 35 @ 2 g./kg. followed by spraying with Mancozeb 0.2% is effective in reducing the disease.

2.Powdery mildew: Erysiphe cichoracearum

Symptoms

• Powdery mildew, is especially prevalent in hot dry conditions.
• White or brown mealy growth will be found on upper and lower surfaces and stems.
• Under severe infestations, the plant will be weakened and stunted.

Management

• The disease can be controlled by spraying Wettable sulphur 0.1%

3.Mosaic: PRSV/CMV

Symptoms:

• A virus distributed world wide, affecting most cucurbits but rarely affecting watermelon.
• New growth is cupped downward, and leaves are severely mottled with alternating light green and dark green patches.
• Plants are stunted, and fruits are covered with bumpy protrusions. Severely affected cucumber fruit may be almost entirely white.

Management

• The virus is readily transferred by aphids and survives on a wide variety of plants.
• Varietal resistance is the primary management tool, and eliminating weeds and infected perennial ornamentals that may harbor the virus is critical.
• Spray with any one of the systemic insecticide

Variety:18 t/ha in 135 – 145 days.
Hybrid: 65-70 t/ha in 135 – 175 days

Crop Growing districts                          Cuddalore, Coimbatore, Dindigul
Major markets in Tamil Nadu              Periyar Vegetable Market, Koyambedu,Chennai Gandhi Market, Oddanchathiram Natchipalayam                                                                                 vegetable market, Coimbatore