Tropical and subtropical vegetables (2+1)

Economic importance

• It is an important cucurbitaceous vegetable extensively grown in different parts of the country for its immature and mature fruits. They are used as fresh vegetable, processed food and stock feed. Immature and mature fruits are cooked as a vegetable. Their flesh is delicious when stewed, boiled or baked. They are sweetish when fully mature and fully ripen fruits are meshed and used for the preparation of a delicacy called halwa, other sweets and jams. They can also be candied or fermented to give a beverage. The Yerusseri prepared from immature fruits is very popular in Kerala.
• Fruit is also mixed with tomato in the preparation of sauce. Sometimes young tender tops of shoots and leaves are also cooked as vegetable. Pumpkin is one of the most popular summer vegetables grown all over India on a commercial scale. Because of its high carotene content and good keeping quality, it is considered as a vegetable of immense value. There is a good deal of confusion about the identity of the Indian cultivated species. Many of them are known by the same vernacular names. They are all utilized in the same way and the methods of cultivation are similar.
• The flowers of pumpkin are more nutritive than fruits. The seeds after removing from seed coats are used in confectionery. This crop is specially known for its low-cost of production and long keeping quality. The fruits can be kept for several months. The young leaves, flowers and fruits are rich in carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. Importance of pumpkin as a potential supplier of carotene has not been exploited till now. Medicinal uses of pumpkin to reduce tapeworm infection and its use as a diuretic are yet to be explored on a large scale.
• Differences in flavour, consistency and appearance of varieties are related to their composition which determines their suitability for various purposes. Some varieties are excellent for culinary use during the early stages of maturity and very poor for the same use at later stages, while the reverse may be true of other varieties.The varieties show differences in the composition of their fruits. Varieties with high sugar content contain larger amounts of acid hydrolysable polysaccharides; those with high total solids are rich in soluble solids and moderately rich in total nitrogen.