Pumpkin | Diseases And Pests, Description, Uses, Propagation

Description

Pumpkin is the name given to a group of plant species in the genus Cucurbita, including Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata. It is grown primarily as a vegetable or ornamental plant.

Pumpkins have long-running, bristled stems, large deeply-lobed leaves often containing white blotches, and yellow or orange flowers separated into male and female types on the same plant. The fruit is variable in shape and color but is often white, cream, or green, containing about 70% flesh and several large white seeds.

Pumpkin plants are short-lived annual or perennial vines with branching tendrils and broad lobed leaves. The plant produces large yellow or orange flowers and a pepo fruit (berry with a thick rind) known as a pumpkin. The fruit can range greatly in size, from miniature pumpkins weighing a few ounces to giant pumpkins which can reach over 75 lbs (34 kg). The skin of the pumpkin is usually ribbed and is usually orange in color although some varieties are green, grey, yellow, or red. Pumpkin plants are usually grown as annuals, surviving one growing season and the vines are capable of reaching 15 m (50 ft) in length if vines are allowed to root. Pumpkin may also be referred to as squash or marrow and is believed to have originated in Mexico and South America.

Crop Details

Scientific Name: Cucurbita spp. (Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata etc.)

Common Name: Budho (Luo), Malenge (Kiwahili), Lisiebebe (Luhya), Marenge (Kikuyu), Risoa (Kisii), Ulenge (Kamba)

Pumpkin fruit Pumpkin Flower Pumpkin flowering Pumpkin plant Pumpkin leaves ‹ › ×

Uses & Benefits

Pumpkin flesh, leaves, and flowers can be cooked and eaten in a variety of dishes. The seeds are also edible and are commonly roasted and eaten as a snack.

Ornamental gourds are cultivars of C. pepo with small, bitter, and inedible fruits in many shapes, sizes, and colors.

The pumpkin has been used as a medicine in Central and North America. It is a gentle and safe remedy for several complaints. The seeds are widely used as an anthelmintic. The complete seed, together with the husk, is used to remove tapeworms.

The fruit and seed decoctions have been reported to be used as diuretics and to reduce fevers, and are used for curing indigestion. The pulp is applied to burns and scalds, inflammation, abscesses, and boils. It is also used in the treatment of migraine and neuralgia.

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Varieties

Butternut 401: It has resistance to powdery mildew

Bugle: It has resistance to powdery mildew.

Early Butternut F1: It has resistance to powdery mildew.

Ultra F1: It has resistance to Fusarium wilt and powdery mildew.

Waltham: It has resistance to powdery mildew.

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Propagation

Basic Requirements

Pumpkins and squashes (various Cucurbita spp.) are grown in the tropics from the lowlands up to 2500 m altitude. They are warm-season crops adapted to monthly mean temperatures of 18-27°C. C. maxima is the most tolerant of low temperatures, C. moschata and C. argyrosperma the least, with C. pepo intermediate. C. maxima and C. pepo have long been cultivated in temperate regions. Butternut appreciates part shade in very hot conditions, such as can be obtained when intercropped with other crops or grown under fruit trees.

Pumpkins and squashes respond very well to medium to heavy applications of compost or well-decomposed manure. They can be cultivated on almost any fertile, well-drained soil with a neutral or slight acid reaction (pH 5.5 to 7). They are drought-tolerant, require relatively little water, and are sensitive to waterlogging. Excessive humidity is harmful because of the development of leaf diseases, so none of the species do well in the humid tropics.

Growing from Seed

Pumpkins and squashes are grown from seed. Seeds may be sown in containers and transplanted to the field when they are 10 cm high. Direct seeding of 2 to 3 seeds per hill is commonly practiced. Trailing types are planted at distances of 2-3 m either way; the seed requirement is 2 to 3 kg/ha. The bushy types (mainly C. pepo) are planted closer, for example, plants spaced 60 to 120 cm in rows 1 to 1.5 m apart; the seed requirement is 3 kg/ha for pumpkin and 7 kg/ha for summer squash (C. pepo). Do not use seeds from plants where edible pumpkins and ornamental gourds are grown close together. Offspring will be bitter or even inedible.

General Care and Maintenance

Sole cropping is sometimes used for commercial production. Pumpkins and squashes are also planted in home gardens or mixed with field crops such as maize. Cultural practices to improve growth and development include the removal of growing tips (in trailing varieties) to check growth, and the bagging of fruits in paper to protect against fruit flies and other pests. Fruit sets may be stimulated by manual pollination. The fruit may rot when in contact with moist soil, so often cut grass or leaves are placed beneath the fruit.

Harvesting

Winter squashes and pumpkins are picked when mature in a once-over harvest or in several rounds, about 90 to 120 days after planting depending on the variety. Pumpkins are considered to be among the most efficient vegetable crops when evaluated on nutritional yield land area and labor needed. Indicative figures for the seed yield of C. pepo are 400 to 1500 kg/ha. A valuable source of oil and protein is thus neglected if the seeds are left unutilized. In seed production, isolation between fields of different Cucurbita species is recommended, not only for the reason of purity but also for obtaining maximum yields (pollen of other species may cause reduced fruit set).

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References

Anderson, C. R. Pumpkins. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Available at: http://www.uaex.edu/publications/pdf/FSA-6074.pdf. [Accessed 02 April 15]. Free to access. Bratsch, A. Pumpkins. Virginia Cooperative Extension. Available at: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/438/438-100/438-100_pdf.pdf. [Accessed 02 April 15]. Free to access. Strang, J. (2012). Pumpkins. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. Available at: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/NewCrops/introsheets/pumpkinintro.pdf. [Accessed 02 April 15]. Free to access. Zitter, T. A., Hopkins, D. L. & Thomas, C. E. (1996). Compendium of Cucurbit diseases. American Phytopathological Society Press. Available at: http://www.apsnet.org/apsstore/shopapspress/Pages/42074.aspx. Available for purchase from APS Press. ‹ › ×