Tropical and subtropical vegetables (2+1)

Harvesting and yield

Harvesting
Fruits should be harvested when they are still immature. Picking should be done every 3-4 days. If there is delay in harvesting, the fruits become more fibrous and are unfit for human consumption. Fruits are harvested when they are tender and still immature. The flesh should not turn fibrous and picking should be done earlier. The crop is ready for harvest in about 60-90 days after the seed sowing, depending upon the season and variety.
The fruit attains a marketable maturity about 5-7 days after anthesis of the female flower. There are long fruited types of ridge gourd in South India and hence tenderness would decide edible maturity and not the fruit size.

Yield
Average yield of sponge and ridge gourds is 8-12 tonnes/ha.