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Management
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Activity
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Pre-sowing
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Nutrients
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- Apply farm yard manure (FYM) @ 8-10 t/acre and incorporate in the soil 2 to 3 weeks before sowing.
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Weeds
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- Field is kept weed free before sowing by ploughing.
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Soil borne fungus, nematodes, resting stages of insects and weeds
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Cultural control:
- Deep ploughing of fields during summer.
- Soil solarization: Cover the beds with polythene sheet of 45 gauge (0.45 mm) thickness for three weeks before sowing for soil solarization which will help in reducing the soil borne pests.
Biological control:
- Apply neem cake/pongamia cake @ 100 kg/acre in soil at the time of last plouging or reducing nematodes, and soil dwelling pests.
- Apply Trichoderma spp. @ 2.5 kg/acre along with FYM
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Seedling stage
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Red pumpkin beetle
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Cultural control:
- Deep summer ploughing exposes the grubs and pupae.
Biological control:
- Conserve predators such as Pennsylvania leather wing beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus); larvae of which feed on pumpkin beetle larva.
- Conserve parasitoids such as Celatoria setosa (grub)
- Spray NSKE 5%
Chemical control:
- Apply trichlorfon 5% GR @ 200 g/acre or trichlorfon 5% DUST @ 200 g/acre
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Applying Trichoderma as seed and nursery treatment and Pseudomonas fluorescens as seed, nursery treatment and soil application (if commercial products are used, check for label claim. However, biopesticides produced by farmers for own consumption in their fields, registration is not required).
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Vegetative stage
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Nutrients
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- Generally cucurbit crops require 40: 32: 24 kg N: P: K/acre
- Apply N in two splits first one (50%) at 25 days after sowing.
- Apply entire P and K at the time of sowing.
- Micro nutrient deficiency should be corrected by foliar spray of particular nutrient.
- To maintain the sex ratio (more number of female flowers), spray borax @ 1 g/l at 2-4 leaf stage
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Weed management
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- Regular hoeing and weeding should be done to keep the field weed free up to 30 days crop stage.
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Fusarium wilt
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Cultural control:
- Use pathogen free seeds
- Remove and destroy the infected plants and plant debris
- Adopt crop rotation
- Avoid water stagnation and maintain proper drainage
- Use resistant varieties
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Serpentine leaf miner
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Cultural control:
- Change in dates of sowing
- Growing castor, tomato or marigold as a trap crop.
Biological control:
Cultural and mechanical control:
- Use yellow sticky traps or cards @ 10/acre
Biological control:
- Conserve parasitoids such as Tetrastichus ovularum (egg), Gronotoma micromorpha (larval and pupal), Diglyphus sp (larval), Opius phaseoli (pupal), Chrysocharis sp, Neochrysocharis formosa (larval) etc.
- Conserve predators such as lacewings, lady beetles, spiders, fire ants etc.
- Foliar spray with NSKE 5%
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Aphids
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Cultural control:
- Lablab and seed mixture including self-sowing annual and perennial herbaceous flower species are viable options to grow within cucurbits or as field boundary crops to attract and increase beneficial insects and spiders for the control of sap-sucking insect pests.
- Biological control:
- Conserve parasitoids such as Aphidius colemani, Diaeretiella spp., Aphelinus spp.
- Release 1st instar larvae of green lacewing bug (Chrysoperla carnea) @ 10,000/acre
- Conserve predators such as anthocorid bugs/pirate bugs (Orius spp.), mirid bugs, syrphid/hover flies, green lacewings (Mallada basalis and Chrysoperla carnea), predatory coccinellids (Stethorus punctillum, Coccinella septumpunctata and Menochilus sexmaculata, Hippodamia convergens), staphylinid beetle (Oligota spp.), predatory cecidomyiid fly (Aphidoletis aphidimyza) and predatory gall midge, (Feltiella minuta), earwigs, ground beetles, rove beetles, spiders, wasps etc.
Chemical control:
- Spray imidacloprid 70% WG @ 14 g in 200 l of water/acre
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Cercospora leaf spot
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Cultural Control:
- Field sanitation
- Maintain good soil drainage and good aeration between vines.
Chemical control:
- Spray zineb 75% WP @ 600-800 g in 300-400 l of water/acre
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Cucumber mosaic virus
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Cultural control:
- Raise 4 rows of barrier crops such as main or sorghum
- Avoid planting tomatoes next to cucurbits, spinach, or other vegetables and flowers susceptible to these diseases.
- Control of aphids (A. gossypii) will help reduce the likelihood of cucumber mosaic.
Chemical control:
- Vector control by spraying imidacloprid 70% WG @ 14 g in 200 l of water/acre
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Powdery mildew
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Cultural control:
- Plant resistant varieties
- Increasing air movement inside the canopy
Chemical control:
- Spray carbendazim 50% WP @ 120 g in 240 l of water or benomyl 50% WP @ 80 g in 200 l of water/acre or thiophanate methyl 70% WP @ 572 g in 00-400 l of water/acre
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Downy mildew
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Cultural control:
- Trellising cucumbers
- Avoiding overhead irrigation or irrigating only in the late morning hours will limit the amount of time that leaves are wet.
- Control alternate weed hosts (wild cucumber, golden creeper and volunteer cucumbers) in neighbouring fence rows and field edges
Chemical control:
- Spray zineb 75% WP @ 600-800 g in 300-400 l of water/acre or cymoxanil 8% + mancozeb 64% WP @ 600 g in 200-240 l of water/acre
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Reproductive stage
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Nutrients
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- Apply the second dose (50%) at 45 days after sowing
- Micronutrient deficiency should be corrected by foliar spray of particular micronutrient.
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Weeds
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- Left over weeds should be removed from the field to avoid further spread of weed seeds.
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Fruit fly
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Cultural control:
- Early maturing varieties are less affected than later ones.
- Changing of sowing dates.
- Collection and destruction of infested fruits
- Slight raking of soil during fruiting time and after the harvest to expose pupae from the soil.
- Use methyl eugenol (0.1%) based trap
Biological control:
- Conserve parasitoids such as Opius fletcheri (pupal)
- Spray NSKE 5%
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