Growing bottle gourd
Lagenaria siceraria · also called lauki, al (Kashmiri)A fast, vigorous vine grown for its long or round pale green fruit, cooked young as a vegetable. It is sown straight into warm soil and cannot take frost.
South interior: Bengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil Nadu
At a glance
Bottle gourd in the South interior
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Wait until January
The next sowing here is January.
- Sow
- Harvest
- Under cover
- Today
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South interior | JulyJanuary | September to NovemberMarch to May | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | April to May | July to mid-September | ||
| Cold desertUnder cover only | Under cover: Late April to May, in a greenhouse | Under cover: July to mid-September | ||
| Sub-tropical foothills | Mid-FebruaryJune to JulyMarchApril to MayUnder cover: First half of November | Mid-April to JuneMid-August to October | ||
| North-west plains | February to MarchJune to JulyUnder cover: November to December | Mid-April to JuneMid-August to October | ||
| Gangetic plains | February to MarchJune to July | Mid-April to JuneMid-August to October | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | November to MarchMarch to April | February to June | ||
| Arid west | February to early MarchJuly, with the monsoon | Mid-April to JuneSeptember to mid-November | ||
| Central plateau | February to MarchJune to JulyNovember | Mid-April to JuneMid-August to October | ||
| Deccan plateau | June to JulyNovemberJanuary to February | Mid-August to October | ||
| West coast | January to MarchSeptember to DecemberMay to June, after the first showers | March to mid-JuneNovember to March | ||
| East coast | JulyJanuary | September to NovemberMarch to May |
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Before the last ploughing
Farmyard manure mixed with Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria (2 kg each) and Pseudomonas (2.5 kg)
50 kg per hectare
Mix the biofertilisers into the manure and spread before the last ploughing
Before the last ploughing
Neem cake
100 kg per hectare
Spread with the manure mix
Basal, in the pit
Farmyard manure (FYM)
10 kg per pit
Mix into each pit before sowing (about 20 t a hectare)
Day 0
Sow
Before sowing
Farmyard manure mixed with Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria (2 kg each) and Pseudomonas (2.5 kg)
50 kg per hectare · Mix the biofertilisers into the manure and spread before the last ploughing · Before the last ploughing
Neem cake
100 kg per hectare · Spread with the manure mix · Before the last ploughing
Farmyard manure (FYM)6
10 kg per pit · Mix into each pit before sowing (about 20 t a hectare) · Basal, in the pit
Day 0
Sow
Day 6 to 10
Seeds come up1,2,3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 135
Last picking6
Water before dibbling the seed, then once a week. On drip, run laterals 1.5 m apart on 120 cm raised beds.6
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,2,6
6 to 7
Sandy loam to loam, well drained and rich in organic matter. It grows on most soils.
SunlightNo published guide covers this for the South interior, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
At least 6 hours a day
Full sun, at least 6 hours a day.
Temperature1
Grows best at 24 to 27 °C
Frost: none tolerated.
Monthly temperatures for the South interior aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering6
Water before dibbling the seed, then once a week. On drip, run laterals 1.5 m apart on 120 cm raised beds.
Weeding6
Hoe out weeds as needed. Thin to two seedlings a pit about 15 days after sowing.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before the last ploughing | Farmyard manure mixed with Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria (2 kg each) and Pseudomonas (2.5 kg) | 50 kg per hectare | Mix the biofertilisers into the manure and spread before the last ploughing |
| Before the last ploughing | Neem cake | 100 kg per hectare | Spread with the manure mix |
| Basal, in the pit | Farmyard manure (FYM) | 10 kg per pit | Mix into each pit before sowing (about 20 t a hectare) |
Varieties and yield
15 to 20 tonnes a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
CO 1
TNAU. Pale green fruit with a clear neck.
PKM 1
TNAU. Very long fruit; about 135 to 140 days.
PLR 1
TNAU. Salad type.
PLR 2
TNAU.
Arka Bahar
Listed by TNAU
Pusa Summer Prolific Long
Listed by TNAU
Pusa Summer Prolific Round
Listed by TNAU
Pusa Manjari
Listed by TNAU
Pusa Meghdoot
Listed by TNAU
TNAU Bottle Gourd Hybrid CO 1
TNAU hybrid
Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the South interior, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Grows well with
Keep it away from
Pests and diseases6Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Organic and cultural controls only.
Red pumpkin beetle
What to do
- Pick the beetles off by hand in the early morning.
- Dust young plants with wood ash.
Fruit fly
What to do
- Pick up and bury fallen and damaged fruit.
Leaf miner
Aphids
Thrips
Whitefly
Pumpkin caterpillar
Powdery mildew
Downy mildew
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Keep a seed crop at least 800 m from other bottle gourd varieties. Check it three times (early growth, flowering and fruiting, and before harvest) and pull out off-type and sick plants.
When the seed is ready
Seed fruit is ready when its skin turns a dull green.
Cleaning the seed
Dry the harvested fruit, then take out the seed, grade it and pack it.
Keep dry seed in a sealed container in a cool, dark place.
After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the South interior, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Pull out the vines after the last picking and compost them if they are healthy. Follow with a crop from another family, such as a leafy vegetable or a legume.
Destroy old cucurbit vines after the crop so downy mildew has nowhere to carry over.
Rotation
Where root knot nematode builds up, rotate with rice, oats, wheat or taramira.
Sources
Where this comes from
Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.
These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.
- Production Technology of Vegetables and Flowers (VSF-231), Part I: Vegetable production (cucurbitaceous crops; protected cultivation)CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur (Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture)Read the source
- Advisory for Kharif Season in Uttarakhand (2 May 2020)G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Directorate of Extension EducationRead the source
- Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria): crop production guide (Horticulture, vegetables)TNAU Agritech Portal, Tamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityRead the source
AI Farm Manager · In development
Plan this crop on your land
AI Farm Manager will turn guides like this one into a plan for your own plot. It doesn't make plans yet.