Tropical and subtropical vegetables (2+1)

Harvesting and yield

Harvesting
Fruit should be picked every 3-4 days. Picking of fruits at the right edible maturity stage depends upon individual kinds and varieties. Further, over mature fruits would show carpel separation in transverse section of the fruits. The crop is ready for harvest approximately 60 days after seed sowing, depending upon the variety and season. Bottle gourd fruits take about 12-15 days after fruit setting to reach the marketable stage.
Precautions should be taken while cutting the fruits so that neither vines nor the fruits are injured. The tenderness and edible maturity are judged by pressing the skin and little pubescence persisting on the skin. Seeds should be soft, if examined in transverse section. Hence smaller fruits fetch better price in the market. The harvest maturity of a vegetable depends upon the purpose for which it is harvested. When the bottle gourd fruit is to be harvested for vegetable, it should be harvested at edible stage.
In bottle gourd picking is done in about 12-15 or even 20 days after fruit set. In bottle gourd, tenderness and edible maturity are judged by pressing the skin and little pubescence persisting on the skin.

yield
• The average yield of bottle gourd is 20 tonnes/ha. However, the improved varieties/F1 hybrids yield up to 40-50 tonnes/ha.