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Hi, welcome to Tutorialspoint. In this tutorial, we will learn about the cultivation of Ridge Gourd crop on pendals. Ridge gourd has different names in different languages. In Hindi, we call it Turai. The botanical name of Ridge Gourd is Luffa Acutangula. It belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. Ridge gourd is a fence creeper, or it can grow on the ground. It is an annual herbaceous plant which dies at the end of each growing season.

Vegetable cultivation on pendals is a technological improvement for crops such as Ridge gourd, Bitter gourd, Snake gourd and Coccinia.  Previously pendal cultivation was restricted to Grapes cultivation only. In recent times, it is being used in semi-urban areas for cultivation of gourd crops of high value.

The pendal is established by using cement pillars or stone pillars having a minimum  height of 10 ft and a girth of 20-25 cms. At the spacing of 15 x 15 MT distance, 30 x 45 cm pits are dug to erect pillars. Around 200 pillars are required for the establishment of one-acre pendal for cultivation. Approximately 1.5 ft. of the pillar is kept in the pit and covered with concrete mixture. Remaining 8.5 ft. of the pillar will be above the ground. Training and pruning practices are followed to facilitate growth on the pendal. This results in higher yield as compared to open field cultivations.

Ridge gourd stem is angular in cross-section with five longitudinal ridges. Ridge gourd leaves are alternate and rounded. The leaves are hairy and kidney shaped. The roots are white to pale cream, smooth and circular in cross-section. Flowers of the ridge gourd plant are monoecious in nature; male and female flowers are found on different plant axis of the same plant, thus cross pollination is highly favorable.

The fruits of ridge gourd make the edible portion. These fruits are small and round to large with elongated, narrow neck. The fruit is green at first, but becomes pale brown when it ripens and dries out.

Suitable Climate Requirements

Ridge gourd requires plenty of sunlight and does not grow well in shady areas. The plant grows well under warm temperatures (25 to 35^oC). The optimum temperature for germination is between 20 and 25^oC. Temperatures below 15oC and above 35oC reduce the germination rate.

The different steps involved in the cultivation of ridge gourd crop are −

• Land preparation
• Mulching sheet and drip irrigation arrangement
• Seed sowing
• Staking and Trellising
• Pest and disease management
• Flowering and fruit formation
• Harvesting and yield

Let us now see how the land is prepared in a field of pendals for the cultivation of ridge gourd crop.

Land Preparation

A well-pulverized soil promotes good soil aeration and enhances root formation. Prepare the field as early as possible to give enough time for the weeds and stubbles of previous crops to decompose. Plough the soil with chisel plough and harrow 2 to 3 times alternately with intervals of one week. Plough at a depth of 15 to 20 cms. Harrow twice to break the clods and level the field.

Ridge gourd grow in a wide range of soils but it thrives best in sandy and loamy soils. The suitable PH range is 6.5 to 7.5. Adding organic manure and farmyard manure will make the soil rich. This paves way for better yield and quality vegetable can be expected.

Once adding FYM to soil is complete, cover the manure with soil and arrange mulching sheet and drip irrigation system makes land preparation complete.

Let us now understand the mulching sheet and drip irrigation system arrangement in the pendals field.

Mulching sheet

The arrangement of a Mulching sheet is very important because it is impermeable to water and prevents the direct evaporation of moisture from the soil and thus limits the water losses and conserves moisture. Mulch can facilitate fertilizer placement and reduce the loss of plant nutrient through leaching. Mulches can also provide a barrier to soil pathogen and prevent germination of annual weeds from receiving light.

Drip irrigation

Overhead irrigation wets the plants but produces runoff. In contrast, drip irrigation is a much more controlled irrigation method. It works by exposing the roots to a direct supply of water. Drip irrigation system release water in a slow and steady fashion and controlled amount of water is supplied to plants at regular intervals.

Mulching sheet and drip irrigation arrangement is over now let’s see seed sowing.

Seed Sowing

A hectare of field requires 2 to 3 kgs of seeds. Soak the seeds in clean water for 24 hours and treat the seeds with Carbendazim to stop soil borne diseases. July and January are suitable months for sowing. Sow the seeds at 2.5-3cm depth into the soil; generally, 2 to 3 seeds per one space.

Distance between seed to seed is 2ft and the distance between row to row is 2 meters. Irrigate the field with drip irrigation. Seeds will germinate in 7 to 10 days. Ridge gourd is a di-cotyledon plant. Therefore, seedlings turn to round cotyledons in this stage. The crop utilizes the nutrition in the soil and grows rapidly.

Hand weeding is recommended during this stage. Frequent irrigation makes the crop healthy. At a later time, the entire crop is ready for stalking. We will now learn how to conduct staking of the ridge gourd crop.

Staking and Trellising

Ridge gourd grows very fast and vines elongate rapidly within four weeks after seed germination. Thereafter, the plant sends out lateral stems. Staking and trellising increase the ridge gourd yield and size, reduce fruit rot and make spraying and harvesting easier.

Pruning

Ridge gourd develops many side branches that are not productive. To improve yield, remove lateral branches until the runner reaches the top of the trellis. Leave 4-6 laterals and cut the top of the main runner to induce early cropping.

We can trellise the ridge gourd crop with bamboo poles, wood stakes, PVC pipes or other sturdy material. These are used to provide support and keep the fruit and foliage off the ground. The trellis is arranged either in a lean to or in tunnel structure.

Horizontal stakes are installed at the top joining all other beds. The stakes support the climbing vines and lateral stems. Strings are used to secure adjoining stakes. Plantings are easier to manage and more productive when 2 m high rather than 1 m high. String trellises are used for the tunnel type, plants are grown inside an arch shape structure made of either PVC or galvanized iron pipe.

Plants are supported by bamboo stakes where vines freely climb and reach the top. The vines and lateral stems will then grow along the structure.

Let us now understand pest and disease management involved the cultivation process of the ridge gourd crop.

Pest and Disease Management

Pests such as mites, beetles, fruit flies and caterpillars, aphids majorly attack the ridge gourd crop.

The diseases that attack Powdery Mildew and Downey Mildew.

• Spraying Miticide Dicofol helps in controlling the mites from attacking.
• Insecticide Imidachloprid mitigates the aphids attack on ridge gourd crop.
 
• Spraying insecticide Malathion will control the cater pillars from attacking.
 
• Spraying insecticide Dimethoate stop the fruit flies attack on ridge gourd crop.
• Spraying fungicide Dinocap will control the Powdery mildew disease attack.
 
• Spraying Chlorothalonil stop the Downey mildew attack on ridge gourd crop.

Let us learn about the flowering and fruit formation in our ridge gourd crop.

Flowering and fruit formation

Ridge gourd flowers are monoecious; this means male and female flowers are found on different locations of plant axis of the same plant, thus cross-pollination is highly favorable. The small yellow flowers open at night. Female flowers are short-stalked and can be distinguished by the small fruit attached to the flower. While male flowers have long stalks around 10 cms or longer.

The pollinated female flowers slowly mature into fruits ready for harvest. Fruits are small and round to large; some fruits have elongated, narrow neck. The fruits are green in color and grow rapidly. When fruit reach the approximate weight of 750 grams, it indicates it is ready for harvesting. We have to harvest the ridge gourd when fruits are in green color; otherwise, the fruits that turn brown are not suitable for consumption.

Next, we will learn how to harvest ridge gourds in our field.

Harvesting and yield

The fruits should be harvested when they are still green and in tender stage. Sharp knife can be used to cut the fruits from vine. Delay in harvesting causes the fruit to become very hard and brown in color, which is not useful for marketing.

Harvesting should be done only after 10 days of insecticide/fungicide application. The ridge gourds should be washed thoroughly in water before sending to local market.

The average yield is 14 to 15 tones / ha.

Thank you for watching our tutorial on the cultivation of ridge gourd crop. Stay connected with tutorialspoint.com to watch more tutorials on the cultivation of different crops.