Cucurbitaceous Vegetables Research Articles

Influence of Ethrel on sex expression in cucurbitaceous vegetables

Crops belonging to family Cucurbitaceae are generally known as ‘Cucurbits’. It consists of a wide range of vegetables either used for salad purpose. Majority of cucurbits are monoecious and sex ratio (male: female) ranges from 25-30:1 to 15:1. Sex ratio is influenced by environmental factors. High N content in the soil, long days and high temperature favour maleness. Besides environmental factors, endogenous levels of auxins, gibberellins, ethylene and abscisic acid also determine sex ratio and sequence of flowering. High ethylene level induces female sex and is suggested to increase female flowers in cucumber, musk melon, summer squash and pumpkin. This review enumerates the detailed information on the effect of ethrel, a ripening hormone, on sex expression in cucurbitaceous vegetables.

Fruit fly management in Nepal: A case from plant clinic

Fruit fly is one of the important insect pests of horticultural crops, both fruits and vegetables. After aphids, fruit fly was reported as a major insect problem in the plant clinic sessions from September 2013 to July 2016 in Nepal. The groups of horticultural crops most affected by fruit flies were cucurbitaceous vegetables, i.e. 79% of all fruit fly queries (bitter gourd, bottle gourd, chayote, cucumber, pumpkin, snake gourd, sponge gourd and squash) followed by fruits 14% (guava, sweet orange, mandarin, mango, peach, and pomegranate) and solanaceous vegetables 6% (brinjal, chillies and tomato). The fruit fly management measures, such as use of para-pheromone lure/traps, sanitation and cultural measures were mostly referred in plant clinics by plant doctors of Nepal. The availability of para-pheromone lures/traps as well as technical know-how of application focusing integrated management measures should be adopted to manage fruit fly in horticultural crops with the least disruption to the environment and human health.

Relative abundance and foraging activity of hymenopteran pollinators in cucurbitaceous vegetables

A study was conducted to investigate the diurnal activity patterns of hymenopteran pollinators in culinary melon and the dynamics of hymenopteran pollinators of five selected cucurbitaceous vegetables viz.,culinary melon, bitter gourd, pumpkin and ridge gourd in 34 locations of Kerala from 06:00 h to 18:00 h with a cone type hand net. The study revealed that Apis cerana indica was dominant in culinary melon, pumpkin and ridgegourd and Tetragonula travancorica was dominant in bitter gourd and ash gourd, A. cerana indica, T. travancorica and Halictus sp. recorded highest foraging speed during 10:00 h to 11:00 h; Ceratina hieroglyphica and Lasioglossum sp. recorded highest foraging speed during 09:00-10:00 h; T. travancorica, C. hieroglyphica and Lasioglossum sp. recorded maximum foraging rate during 10:00 h to 11:00 h; A. cerana indica and Halictus sp. recorded highest foraging rate during 11:00-12:00 h and 09:00-10:00 h.

A REVIEW ON HOST PREFERENCE, DAMAGE SEVERITY AND INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT OF RED PUMPKIN BEETLE

Cucurbitaceous vegetables are the major source of income for small holding farmers in Nepal. However, production potential of this vegetable is hindered by many pests like red pumpkin beetle, fruit fly, cucurbit stink bug, cucumber thrips, cutworms etc. Red pumpkin beetle (RPB) has been a significant concern in cucurbit production, damaging from germination up to harvesting. This paper analyses host preference shown by RPB among different cucurbits along with severity of damage. Moreover, this paper shows heavier application of insecticides to control RPB which has adverse effect on human health and agro-ecosystem. In order to reduce such haphazard application of insecticides, other control techniques need to be formulated and familiarize with farmers. Integrated pest management (IPM) is the best option that provides several measures, alternative to insecticide and facilitates sustainable environment management. Result shows different eco-friendly techniques practiced by farmers. In addition, it elicits appropriate integration of such techniques in a research station that are applicable to farmer’s field.

Effects of gamma radiation on germination and growth characteristics of spine gourd (Momordica dioica Roxb.)

Spine gourd (Momordica dioica Roxb.) is originated in Indo Malaya region and widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical parts of India and adapted to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions (Basumatary et al. 2014). It is highly nutritious vegetable containing high amount of protein as compared to other cucurbitaceous vegetables with a high medicinal value, mainly cultivated for its fruits. Changing conditions had an urge plant breeder to practice on some avant-garde methods such as genetic engineering and mutation breeding, as an addition to traditional methods

Field screening of different genotypes of bitter gourd for infestation with the melon fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) in two agro-climatic zones of West Bengal, India

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) also known as bitter melon being rich in folate and vitamin C is one of the most popular cucurbitaceous vegetables grown extensively in the tropics and subtropics especially in India. Besides its numerous culinary preparations, it has immense medicinal properties as well as ornamental uses. The fast growing vines and creepers of bitter gourd attract a number of insect pests of which fruit fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae Coq.) is the most destructive due to difficulties associated with its chemical control as the maggots remain and feed inside the fruits, protected from direct contact with insecticides. Therefore, exploration of alternative control measures for this pest is crucial and identification of promising resistance genotypes could be the effective option. Considering the above aspects in view, twenty five genotypes of bitter gourd (M. charantia L.) were preliminary screened under field condition to study their susceptibility against the infestation of melon fruit fly, B. cucurbitae (Coq.) in two agro-climatic zones of West Bengal, India. Based on the performance of preliminary screening, nine genotypes were selected for final screening. The experiment on preliminary screening was conducted at Kalyani, Nadia (Gangetic Alluvial zone) and Sekhampur, Birbhum (Red and Laterite zone) during spring-summer season of 2016 and 2017 while the final screening was done in 2018. Results of the study revealed that percent fruit infestation and larval density per fruit varied significantly in all the tested genotypes and none of the genotypes were free of infestation with B. cucurbitae. During preliminary screening, the pooled data of mean percent fruit infestation of two years at two locations showed that infestation of melon fruit fly was significantly lower in the genotype US-6214 (14.50%) with larval density of 3.63 larvae per fruit followed by Meghnad-2 (16.50% and 4.08 larvae per fruit). Highest mean percent fruit infestation was recorded in the genotype Pusa Do Mausami (69.67%) with larval density of 10.77 larvae per fruit followed by Diamond Bolder (60.67% and 8.13 larvae per fruit) and were categorized as susceptible. Out of the twenty five genotypes of bitter gourd tested, six genotypes were classified as resistant, eleven genotypes as moderately resistant and eight genotypes as susceptible against melon fruit fly infestation. The mean data of the final screening at two locations revealed that US-6214 and Meghnad-2 recorded significantly low percent fruit infestation (14.35% and 16.33%) with 3.85 and 4.37 larvae per fruit while Pusa Do Mausami had the highest infestation and larval density (63.67% and 10.36 larvae per fruit). These findings suggest that US-6214 and Meghnad-2 may be utilized in resistance breeding programmes against melon fruit fly.

Bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L., breeding lines differ in secondary metabolite content according to market type

Bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L., is an important commercial cucurbitaceous vegetable of enormous medicinal value in Asia because of its secondary metabolite content. We report here the characterization and evaluation of open-pollinated (OP) edible South Asian and Southeast Asian types of bitter gourd breeding lines, developed at the World Vegetable Center, for horticultural traits (11 OP) and secondary metabolites (10 OP) and their comparisons with commercial OP and F1 hybrid cultivars. Marketable yields of South Asian and Southeast Asian type breeding lines were comparable to the OP ‘BARI Karella 1’ and the hybrid ‘Benteng’, respectively.The bitter gourd cultivars and breeding lines included in this study exhibited specific patterns for five secondary metabolites (saponins, carotenoids, chlorophyll a and b, and vitamin C): in general the two cultivars and South Asian type breeding lines contained higher levels of secondary metabolites, e.g. carotenoids, than the Southeast Asian bitter gourd breeding lines.Some of these bitter gourd lines will be released to Asian home and school gardeners after conducting multi-location trials across Asia to improve vegetable consumption as a main task of bitter gourd breeding.

Effect of various protected structures on yield and yield attributing traits in cucurbitaceous and solanaceous vegetables under mid hill conditions of central Himalayas

Effect of various protected structures on yield and yield attributing traits in cucurbitaceous and solanaceous vegetables under mid hill conditions of central Himalayas

Analysis of trend in area, production and yield of major vegetables of Nepal

Vegetable production is an important sector of economy for farmers in Nepal. The analysis was carried out to explore the trends in vegetable production sector in Nepal along with the recent trend of some major vegetables in terms of area, production and yield. The time series data from 1977/78 to 2016/17 (40 years) of vegetables production and 5 years data (2011/12 - 2015/16) of major vegetables were collected from reliable source and analysis was done through Microsoft Excel. The results show that between 1977/78 and 2016/17 the area under vegetables cultivation has jumped by 222.8% while production is increased by 728.21% and productivity is increased by 156.6% during this course. The result also reveals that during the period of 5 years (2011/12 - 2015/16), solanaceous and cruciferous vegetables has an increasing trend in area, production and yield except for the area under cultivation for eggplant (declined by 5.2%) and for radish (declined by 6.0%) respectively while cucurbitaceous vegetables has increasing trend in area and production but an declining trend in yield except for the yield of cucumber (increased by 15.8%). However, the trend of other major vegetables is seen highly fluctuating over the years.

Chitosan and yeast elicitor in suppressing seed-borne fungi of cucurbitaceous vegetables

Experiments were conducted under laboratory condition to examine the efficacy of Chitosan and Yeast Elicitor to suppress the growth of seed-borne fungi of cucurbitaceous vegetables. Seeds of bottle gourd, sweet gourd, snake gourd, wax gourd and cucumber were collected from seed traders of Mymensingh districts and different seed borne fungi were isolated, purified and identified. Fourteen fungal species belonging to twelve genera consisting of Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium moniliforme, Fusarium oxysporum, Phoma exigua, Rhizopus stolonifer, Macrophomina phaseolina, Penicillium spp., Curvularia lunata, Chaetomium spp., Colletotrichum spp., Cercospora spp. and Alternaria alternata were isolated and identified. Four concentrations of Chitosan and Yeast Elicitors solutions (200, 500, 1000 & 2000 ppm) including one positive control Vitavax-200 WP (0.35%) were evaluated for controlling seed-borne fungi. Among the seed treating agents Chitosan (2000 ppm) and Yeast Elicitor (2000 ppm) showed better performance in suppressing the seed-borne fungi. Chitosan (2000 ppm) showed superior performance than Yeast Elicitor (2000 ppm). Results from the present study revealed that application of elicitors as seed treatment is a potential alternative of chemical fungicide for selective vegetables.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 16(2): 187-192, August 2018

Characterization of Cucumber mosaic virus infecting snake gourd and bottle gourd in India

Snake gourd and bottle gourd are the common cucurbitaceous vegetables consumed in India that are prone to viral infections under field conditions. During our field survey in Southern India in 2012-14, the symptoms viz., stunted growth, mosaic mottling, puckering and chlorosis in these crops were observed. Incidences of virus-like symptoms ranging between 63 and 88% were observed in three different locations. Based on the mechanical inoculations on their respective host, plants produced symptoms similar to those under field conditions. Samples tested with DAS-ELISA using CMV polyclonal antiserum were found positive for CMV. The occurrence of CMV was further confirmed by amplification of coat protein gene of CMV using RT-PCR assays. The sequence analysis of coat protein gene revealed highest nucleotide identity of >92% with CMV subgroup IB isolates. Coding regions from CMV RNA 1, RNA 2 and RNA 3 genomic fragments were cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of RNA1, RNA 2 and RNA 3 from CMV infecting snake gourd and bottle gourd showed close relatedness with Italian isolate that infect Capsicum rather than Asian isolates of CMV from India, Malaysia, China and Japan. The characterization of CMV from snake gourd and bottle gourd pertaining to biological, serological and molecular attributes are presented.

Attractancy of melon fruit fly (Diptera: tephritidae) to bacteria isolated from gut and ovipositor

Bactrocera cucurbitae is an economically important pest of cucurbitaceous vegetables. They harbour a diverse group of microorganisms as endosymbionts. Bacteria associated with the pest have the potential to be used in different pest management strategies. Laboratory cage bioassays were conducted to study the attractancy of melon fruit flies to their associated bacteria in laboratory conditions. Among the bacteria isolated from laboratory reared flies, Providencia rettgeri showed maximum attractancy followed by Enterococcus faecalis in all age and sex groups of flies tested. Among the bacteria isolated from wild population of fruit flies, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae were more attractive. All bacterial cultures attracted more female compared to male flies in the attractancy bioassay, and thus showing the potential to be utilized as a female targeted management strategy.

Host preference and eco-friendly management of cucurbit fruit fly under field condition of Bangladesh

Experiments were carried out to investigate the host preference of cucurbit fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae and its management to cucurbitaceous vegetables namely, bitter gourd, ridge gourd and snake gourd. Among the vegetables, bitter gourd was found as mostly preferable (upto 40.69% fruit infestation) and snake gourd was found as the least preferable (18.64% fruit infestation). Among management tactics (fruit bagging, neem oil, mahogany oil, alamonda leaf extract, pheromone trap and cider vinegar traps), bagging reduced maximum fruit infestation (upto 75.51%) compared to controlled plots. Among the botanicals, neem oil was mostly effective (21.64% reduction of fruit infestations) followed by alamonda leaf extract and mahogany oil. Both traps were found effective and more insect were trapped in the pheromone trap.
 Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2017, 2 (1), 55-59

Study on Nutritional Composition on Firmness of Two Gherkin ( Cucumis sativus L.) Varieties (Ajax & Vlasset) on Brine Fermentation

Gherkin (Cucumis sativus L.) is an important cucurbitaceous vegetable. The pickling type gherkins are produced in Sri Lanka since 1988 for export market and it expanded over several agrological regions. Locally grown two gherkin varieties (Ajax and Vlasset) were tested for proximate composition (moisture, dry matter, ash, mineral, protein, fat, dietary fibre and carbohydrate) of raw fruits (AOAC methods) and within 6 month of brine fermentation, firmness measurements (FTA) were recorded and varieties were evaluated. Vlasset and Ajax varieties contained 96.30% and 95.54% moisture, respectively. The ash, protein and fat were higher (p) and dietary fibre, carbohydrate lower in Ajax. Mg, K and Zn content were higher (p) in Ajax noted as 16.60 ± 1.47, 194.0± 7.80 and 14.69± 0.40 respectively while Vlasset was noted lower values. Ca (10.62± 0.59 ) and Na (13.46 ±0.43) were greater in Vlasset while Ajax was given lower values. Both varieties showed K to be highest followed by Zn, Na and Ca while Mg amount was secondly highest in Ajax and lowest in Vlasset. Firmness variation of both exocarp and mesocarp of Vlasset has shown same pattern while giving maximum reading in the 2nd month after fermentation. Firmness variation of exocarp and mesocarp of Ajax was not followed same pattern while maximum value was recorded in 5th and 2nd month respectively. These findings indicated that Sri Lankan gherkins have similar nutrient values as cucumber. Even initial moisture content is higher in Vlasset than Ajax variety the better textural quality is apparent in Vlasset supported by physicochemical properties of higher dietary fibre, carbohydrate, minerals (Ca, Na) and having higher firmness in mesocarp tissue than exocarp.

Molecular detection and characterisation of bipartite Begomoviruses associated with cucurbitaceous vegetables in Sri Lanka

The Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka publishes the results of research in all aspects of Science and Technology. The journal also has a website at http://www.nsf.gov.lk/. 2021 Impact Factor: 0.682The JNSF provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.Cover :Leatherback (a), green (b - adult & f - hatchling), hawksbill (c) and olive ridley (d) turtles who nest in Sri Lankan beaches, green turtle crawl marks (e) and by-catch of sea turtles in fisheries (c & d)Photo credits: SJ Perera (a & c), WPN Perera (b & e), K Ekaratne (d & f)

Comparative study on host preference and damage potentiality of Red pumpkin beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis and Epilachna beetles, Epilachna dodecastigma

Experiments were carried out in the field and in the laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Bangladesh Agricultural University during the period from February to August, 2013. Three cucurbitaceous vegetables viz. bitter gourd, ridge gour d and snake gourd were used as test crops. Considering to percent leaf infestation and leaf area consumptions, red pumpkin beetle was found mostly harmful to snake gourd (22.62% and 8.84%, respectively) but least harmful to bitter gourd (3.00% and 1.25%, respectively). On the other hand, Epilachna beetle was found mostly damaging to bitter gourd (46.00% and 21.67% respectively) and least damaging to ridge gourd (11.20% and 5.00%, respectively). Similar to the field experiments, red pumpkin beetle consumed more leaf areas of snake gourd (up to 43.36%) and Epilachna beetle (both adult and grubs) consumed more leaf areas of bitter gourd (up to 91.46%) in the laboratory experiments. Bitter gourd (1.42%) and ridge gourd (0.78% to 41.27%) were least preferable to the red pumpkin beetle and Epilachna beetle, respectively.Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.3(3): 411-416, December 2016

Isolation and functional characterization of CsLsi1, a silicon transporter gene in Cucumis sativus

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely grown cucurbitaceous vegetable that exhibits a relatively high capacity for silicon (Si) accumulation, but the molecular mechanism for silicon uptake remains to be clarified. Here we isolated and characterized CsLsi1, a gene encoding a silicon transporter in cucumber (cv. Mch-4). CsLsi1 shares 55.70 and 90.63% homology with the Lsi1s of a monocot and dicot, rice (Oryza sativa) and pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), respectively. CsLsi1 was predominantly expressed in the roots, and application of exogenous silicon suppressed its expression. Transient expression in cucumber protoplasts showed that CsLsi1 was localized in the plasma membrane. Heterologous expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes showed that CsLsi1 evidenced influx transport activity for silicon but not urea or glycerol. Expression of cucumber CsLsi1-mGFP under its own promoter showed that CsLsi1 was localized at the distal side of the endodermis and the cortical cells in the root tips as well as in the root hairs near the root tips. Heterologous expression of CsLsi1 in a rice mutant defective in silicon uptake and the over-expression of this gene in cucumber further confirmed the role of CsLsi1 in silicon uptake. Our results suggest that CsLsi1 is a silicon influx transporter in cucumber. The cellular localization of CsLsi1 in cucumber roots is different from that in other plants, implying the possible effect of transporter localization on silicon uptake capability.

Economic return from the land race vegetables and their importance in sustainable production systems in the hot arid region

The present study was conducted in hot arid region of the Western Rajasthan during 2012–2014. Three districts of hot arid region namely; Naguar, Bikaner, Churu district were selected randomly for the study. During the study, there were found several potential landrace vegetables in the hot arid region which play significant role as the leading component crops of the sustainable production system and source of income generation in the study areas/district. Among the evergreen bush/tree type landrace vegetables were khejri, ker, Khimp, moringa, phog, lasoda (Cordia myxa Roxb.), Indian aloe, and cactus (Opuntia ficus indica). Under the group of the seasonal leafy vegetable, fenugreek, amaranth, chinopodium (bathua), mustard (leaves), green onion, were found the major landrace leafy vegetables contributing in sustainable production system and income generation in hot arid region (study areas). In case of cucurbitaceous vegetable group, the kachri, snapmelon, mateera, roundmelon, bottlegourd and kakoda were found the most important landrace cucurbitaceous vegetables which play leading role in sustenance and sustainable production system of the crops in hot arid region (study areas). They are the backbone of the world famous mixed cropping system of the hot arid region which makes the existing cropping system most suitable and sustainable with high economic viability. Other important landrace vegetables were cluster bean, moth bean, cowpea, green gram, brinjal, chilli and local mushroom which play vital roles in sustainable crop production system and generating substantial amount of income in the study areas/districts. Further, it was found that the majority (86.8%) of the farmers of the study areas of the hot arid region mainly follow mixed cropping system and some of them follow intercropping and sole cropping system also. With respect to economic gain from the landrace vegetables, it was found they have high economic value and marketing viability. They are very good source of income and trade specific activities for the farmers/dwellers in the study areas of the hot arid region. The ker (Capparis deciduas Edgew), khejri (Prosopis cineraria L.) Druce and cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonolobus (L.)Taub were found the most economic landrace vegetable among all in the hot arid region/study areas.

Impacts of temperature, relative humidity and total number of fruits on cucurbit fruit fly infestations under field condition

The research was carried out in the field laboratory of the Department of Entomology, Bangladesh Agricultural University during April to July 2013 to correlate the temperature, relative humidity and number of fruits with the level of fruit infestations by cucurbit fruit fly, Bactrocerea cucubitae. Three cucurbitaceous vegetables namely bitter gourd (BARI Karola-1), ridge gourd (BARI Jhinga-1), and snake gourd (Local Chichinga) were taken as host crops. Percent fruit infestations were compared with the natural variation of temperature, relative humidity and number of fruits under field condition. Fruit infestations varied significantly with the variation of temperature, relative humidity and total number of fruits among three selected vegetables. Increasing of temperature had profound positive role in bitter gourd fruit infestation whereas negative relationship was found for ridge gourd infestation. However, statistically insignificant but positive effect of temperature was observed in snake gourd infestation. Fruit infestation of ridge gourd and snake gourd increased with the increase of relative humidity while negative relationship was observed in case of bitter gourd. Percent fruit infestations by cucurbit fruit fly were also found to be affected by total number of fruits. Positive but weak relationships were found between percent fruit infestations and total number of fruits of all three vegetables used in the experiments.Progressive Agriculture 26:1-5, 2015

Evaluation and Efficacy of Pest Management Modules for cucur-bits against Fruitfly,Bactrocera cucurbitae(Coquillett) in Andaman

Fruit fly (Dacus cucurbitae) is a major pest of cultivated cucurbits. Among cucurbits, incidence was more in bitter gourd and ridge gourd as compared to other cucurbitaceous veg-etables. IPM module has been developed for the successful management of cucurbit fruit fly. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) module com-prising of installation of cue-lure baited traps @ 50 traps/ha for mass trapping, weekly clipping of infested fruits, foliar spray of aqueous leaf ex-tracts of Morinda citrifolia @ 100g/l and foliar spray of spinosad 45SC or imidacloprid 17.8SL @ 0.3ml/l alternately at 15 days interval was found effective with respect to less fruit damage due to fruit fly (9%) and maximum fruit yield (10.75 t/ha) in bitter gourd as compared to un-treated control (39.3% fruit damage and fruit yield 5.53 t/ha). The same trend was also noticed in ridge gourd also. IPM module was found bet-ter with respect to less fruit damage (5.9%) and maximum fruit yield (7.59t/ha) in ridge gourd. The yield in untreated control plots was recorded 3.46t/ha. IPM module for cucurbit fruit fly gave higher cost benefit ratio of 1: 3.35 in IPM and 1: 2.30 in non-IPM fields of bitter gourd and 1: 1.99 in IPM and 1: 1.23 in non-IPM fields of ridge gourd, respectively. IPM module for cucur-bit fruit fly gave higher incremental cost benefit ratio of 1: 3.35 in IPM and 1: 2.30 in non-IPM fields of bitter gourd and 1: 1.99 in IPM and 1: 1.23 in non-IPM fields of ridge gourd, respectively. By using these management practices, application of synthetic insecticides can be reduced and low-er the risk to people, wildlife and the environ-ment.