Pumpkin farming complete information - When to plant pumpkin, investment and production in pumpkin, how to protect it from disease, water requirement, temperature, kaddu ki kheti
Today I will help you to enhance your knowledge about pumpkin farming and by the end of this post you will be able to answer various questions related pumpkin like - Planting period of pumpkin, temperature required, soil required, irrigation method, how to take care of pumpkin, diseases, production and investment in pumpkin.
Lets dive in deeper
Pumpkins are one of the oldest domesticated plants, since 7,500 to 5,000 BC. Pumpkins are mostly grown for commercial use they are native to North America.
Giant Pumpkins - Large in size they are large squash having appearance like pumpkins. Most are varieties of Cucurbita maxima, Antarctica is not able to produce pumpkins. The weight exceeds 1 ton of few varieties.
When to plant Pumpkin
Pumpkin is such a vegetable that is available throughout the year. January, February and March are the ideal months to grow pumpkin in whole India, however it is planted till June.
In hot regions like middle India and south India one can start the pumpkin planting from January. Moreover, in north India it can be planted in the month of January, Feb and march due to cold pollyhouse and tunnels can be used for nursery. In hill areas, it is planted in March-April. In Kerala it is planted from November to February.
June to July is next season for planting pumpkin and if you live in valley area where water stucks then it is advised not to plant this crop in this season because it is laid horizontal on the land.
It takes around 90 - 120 days to grow, depends on different verities.
Temperature
20 degree Celsius to 35 degree Celsius is ideal temperature for pumpkin to perform better. pumpkin is the vegetable of warm temperature therefore it is mostly grown in the months from Jan to April, June. It is not good to germinate the seeds of pumpkin in winters.
Soil
Pumpkin is soil friendly crop and can be grown in almost any soil. It is also comfortable while growing in loamy soil as well. However organic and healthy soil is always good for any crop. So try to make your soil healthy or use organic soil for upper hand not only in pumpkin but also in different crops.
Sowing Method
While talking about sowing we can look at two methods one is traditional sowing method and the other one is modern sowing method. Whether you are new farmer or traditional farmer I can only give you some information, decision will be yours to choose the one.
First you have to prepare your farm in good way. It means first cultivate it by cultivator then cultivate it by rotavator it helps to equalize and maintain your farm. You can either use mulching technique or traditional technique to perform the above exercise.
Mulching technique - Usually in this technique one have to make bed by togethering soil in plain farm. It should be around 8 to 10 inches in height it need to be feed with fertilizer. If you are wondering how to make beds then I would tell you some people use to make it by their own hands some uses labour for this and if you have tractor then it becomes more easy and cheaper to make beds in whole farm with the help of tractor.
Distance between beds depend on the places and various verities of pumpkin. The distance should be around 7-8 feet between two beds. One important thing is that while performing this technique you should have drip and if you don't have drip then you can't perform mulching technique.
Bed is covered by mulching paper and drip is used to serve water. Water is served by drip to bed for couple of hours so that it could become moist. Before putting seed inside the drill first you need to cut mulch paper then put seed inside the drill.
Remember there should be estimated distance between seeds for good results it need to be between 1.5 feet to 2 feet.
Before sowing pumpkin seed, one important thing to note down is while putting the pumpkin seed in the drill the pointed part of the seed should be pointing towards the land don't allow it pointing towards any other direction.
Cost of mulching - It costs around 15 to 20 thousand for mulching drip cost is extra cost you have to pay. If you are not able to afford this much then traditional farming is good option for you.
Traditional technique - In this technique distance between seeds is 1.5 feet to 2 feet and line to line distance is 7 to 8 feet. In this process you have to make groove or drain between two beds. While using fertilizer you can choose DAP and Pota's in quantity of 500-700 grams in 20-25 long groove for irrigation. In this method weed is common problem so before sowing seeds you should spray farm by penda methylene to avoid weed. However, you can also spray penda methylene after sowing but water should be given before spraying in both conditions. It will give you relief from weed at least for 1.5 to 2 months.
Mulching Technique Vs Traditional Technique
Traditional
mulching
Care
While starting the pumpkin cultivation you can use cow manure as a fertilizer to avoid extra cost. When your plant grows up and start delivering product (pumpkin) you can use cow manure as a fertilizer.
If you are selling pumpkin in this duration you have to provide fertilizer to your plant between 10 to 15 days, you can spray (tonic) between 15 to 20 days and you can spray oxychloride (2.5gram per/litre) between 15 to 20 days.
Production
There are lots of varieties in pumpkin cultivation. If you are working with good potential then you can easily achieve the target of producing 120 quintal pumpkin in 1 acre.
While talking about cost investment around Rs 15000 is much needed amount in traditional farming technique and in mulching technique it grows around Rs 45 to 50 thousand.
If you are ready to work hard then you are able to produce good results in traditional farming as well only you need to be aware and it might take bit more time.
If you can invest such amount then mulching technique is good for producing early results and more production.
Note - Use cow or bedfellows manure for good production.
Price of 1 kg Pumpkin
Price of 1 kg pumpkin varies from Rs 30 , 40, 50, 80 it depends on different verities of pumpkin. Yellow pumpkin is cheaper then green pumpkin. Yellow pumpkin costs around Rs 20 per/kg
Is Pumpkin farming profitable in India
Yes pumpkin farming is profitable in India. First of all the weather in whole India suits the nature of pumpkin. The average temperature required for pumpkin is around 20 degree to 35 degree, that is the average temperature of the country this is the most appropriate reason we find pumpkin throughout the year.
Price of a pumpkin is around Rs 30 to 50 per/kg. There are few techniques to grow pumpkin which I have mentioned above in detail. Traditional and Munching are two technique techniques lets calculate the cost price - In traditional technique you have to invest approximately Rs 15,000 while using mulching technique you have to invest around Rs 50,000 per acre.
Lets take traditional technique for example- If you work hard with good care and planning then you are easily able to produce around 120 quintal in one acre land even in traditional farming.
Simple calculation -
Average price of 1 kg pumpkin is Rs 30
1 quintal = 100 kg
Price of 10 kg pumpkin 10 x 30 = Rs 300
Price of 100 kg (1quintal) pumpkin 30 x 100 = Rs 3,000 (1 quintal)
We have to calculate the price of 120 quintal
When we calculate 120 quintal in kg it will be 12,000 kg
30 x 12000 = Rs 3,60,000 will be your profit in one acre. Now you can reduce your investment
36000 - 20,000 = 3 lakh 40 thousand profit in traditional technique
36000 - 50000 = 3 lakh 10 thousand profit in mulching technique.
Remember using mulching technique you can enhance your production from 120 quintal to 150 or more. Its not exact figure it can vary according to the production.
If you are cultivating pumpkin in more than 1 acre land then the figure will be higher it also gives opportunity to cultivate thrice or at least twice in a year. First - Jan to March 2nd - April to June however it is not cultivated in winters but in south India it can be grown in winters as well due to the climate condition, 3rd October to Jan (in warm regions).
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