14 Mar Hybrid Seed Production of Pumpkin Under North Indian Condition
उत्तर भारतीय मौसमी हालात में कद्दू के संकर बीज उत्पादन The pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Poir.), is an important member of cucurbitace family and is grown extensively during kharif (monsoon) and summer season across India, for tender and immature fruits. Its fruits are consumed in cooked form and also used for preparation of sweets. The fruit juice, flowers, young stem and leaves have many medicinal values. India is the second largest producer of pumpkin in the world after China (5.768 million tones). Pumpkin, squash and gourd are grown in India over an area of 0.36 million ha, which is highest in the world with the production of 3.50 million tones (FAO; 2005). The average productivity of pumpkin, squashes and gourds is about 9.72t/ha in India, which is lower than the average world productivity of 12.7t/ha. The average productivity of pumpkin, squashes and gourd in Israel and Netherlands is over 45.0t/ha, with the highest average productivity of 55.0t/ha in Netherlands (FAO; 2005). The higher productivity in these countries is due to the coverage of maximum area under hybrids where as OP varieties occupied major area in India and pumpkin are being cultivated by resource poor farmers through self-saved seed. The demand of hybrid seed among farmers is increasing because of earliness, uniformity and higher yield which...