Ornamental and Utilitarian Gourd Evaluation, Fall 2002
Donald N. Maynard[1] and Brian J. Sidoti[2]
The Cucurbitaceae family includes many widely cultivated food plants such as melon (Cucumis melo), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and squash, pumpkin and gourd (Cucurbita pepo), squash and pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), and squash (Cucurbita maxima). Regionally important, but less common cucurbits are bitter melon (Momordica charantia), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), luffa (Luffa cylindrical), and chayote (Sechium edule). Many other cucurbits are locally important for food, ornamental, utilitarian, or medicinal purposes.
Decorative or ornamental gourds and some squash (Cucurbita pepo) and some colorful winter squash (Cucurbita maxima) provide spectacular material for centerpieces, displays, and arrangements for the autumn Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays. Their use rivals the traditional jack-o-lantern and holiday pie, which feature cucurbits. The squash are also excellent food sources.
Utilitarian gourds such as the cucuzzi gourd and bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) vary widely in shape and size. Mature gourd fruit with a tough, impervious pericarp have been used by traditional societies for various household utensils such as dippers and liquid storage utensils, birdhouses, fishnet floats, musical instruments, ceremonial masks, penis sheaths, and various decorations and objects of art. Some of these uses have been supplanted by modern synthetic materials except in the most traditional societies. Nowadays, gourds are prized by ‘gourd artists’ who craft art objects by burning, carving, and painting gourds to produce intricate designs and pictorials. The unusual shape of the raw gourd adds to the challenge of the artist and interest of the final product.
The objective of this trial was to determine the potential for gourd production in west central Florida using cultural methods and scheduling that had proven successful for other cucurbits. Materials and Methods
Soil samples from the experimental area obtained before fertilization were analyzed by the University of Florida Extension Soil Testing Laboratory (Hanlon and DeVore, 1989): pH = 7.2 (target pH is 6.5) and Mehlich I extractable P = 45 ppm (high), K = 9 ppm (very low), Mg = 104 ppm (high), Ca = 870 ppm (adequate), Zn = 4.1 ppm (adequate), Cu = 2.5 ppm (adequate), and Mn = 3.2 ppm (possible response to applied Mn) ppm.
The EauGallie fine sand was prepared on 22 July. Beds were formed and fumigated with methyl bromide:chloropicrin, 67:33 at 350 lb/treated acre. Banded fertilizer was applied in shallow grooves on the bed shoulders at 2.9-0-4.0 lb N-P2O5-K2O/100 lbf after the beds were pressed and before application of the white polyethylene mulch. Total fertilizer applied was equivalent to 130-0-180 lb N-P2O5-K2O/acre. The final beds were 32-in. wide and 8-in. high and were spaced on 9-ft centers, with four beds between seepage irrigation/drainage ditches which were on 41-ft centers.
Decorative and utilitarian gourds and colorful winter squash seeds were planted on 5 August in holes punched in the polyethylene mulch at 3-ft in-row spacing. Seedlings were thinned at the two true-leaf stage to one per hole. Forty-three entries (Table 1) were included in the trial. ‘Celebration’, ‘Festival’, ‘Harlequin’, and ‘Heart of Gold’ are hybrids but all other entries are open pollinated. The 12-ft long plots had four plants each and were replicated four times in a randomized complete-block design. Weed control in row middles was accomplished by cultivation and application of paraquat. Plant stands recorded just before vines grew together showed no significant differences among plots. Pesticides were applied as needed for control of lepidopterous larvae and silverleaf whitefly (bifenthrin, buprofezin, endosulfan, and Bacillus thuringiensis) and plant pathogens (azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil, , mefenoxam, mancozeb, and maneb).
The decorative gourds and colorful winter squashes were harvested on 14 and 21 October (70 and 77 DAP) and the utilitarian gourds were harvested on 5 November (92 DAP). True-to-type and off-type (where they occurred) fruit were counted and weighed separately. The five largest and five smallest utilitarian gourd fruit were weighed to determine the range of sizes within a variety. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and mean separation was by Duncan’s multiple range test. ResultsDecorative Gourds and Winter Squash. Yields of true-to-type fruit varied from 0 lb/plant for ‘Celebration’ to 6.7 lb/plant for ‘Tiny Turk’ and ‘Mini Red Turban’ (Table 2). ‘Celebration’ yields were reduced because 100% of the fruit were not true-to-type, but may have been marketable. Fruit per plant ranged from 0 for ‘Celebration’ to 14.8 per plant for ‘Orange Ball’. Average fruit weight varied from 0.2 lb for several entries to 17.7 lb for ‘Red Warty Thing’. A high proportion of off-type fruit was noted in ‘Celebration’, ‘Red Warty Thing’ and ‘Spoon’ (Table 2). An array of decorative gourds and winter squash is shown in Fig. 1 and individual varieties in Figs. 2-24. Utilitarian Gourds. Yields of true-to-type fruit ranged from 0 lbs/plant for ‘Swan’ and ‘Speckled Swan’ to 32.2 lbs/plant for ‘Canteen’ (Table 3). ‘Canteen’ produced the most fruit per plant, 16.1, and ‘Speckled Swan’ and ‘Swan’ produced the fewest fruit per plant, 0. Average fruit weight varied from 0.2 lb/fruit for ‘Miniature Bottle’ to 6.3 lb/fruit for ‘Giant Bushel’. As with decorative gourds, there was considerable variation within varieties in fruit weight. The average weight of the five largest fruit in a plot was one to three times greater than the average weight of the five smallest fruit in the plot. Gourds have been selected for physical attributes from heterogeneous populations to produce the distinct types we call varieties. Nonetheless, there is still considerable variation within varieties. An array of the utilitarian gourds is shown in Fig. 31 and the individual varieties are illustrated in Figs. 32-42.
A similar trial conducted in fall 2001 (Maynard, Dunlap, and Sidoti, 2001) resulted in much higher yields and perhaps better quality as evaluated visually. Yields of decorative gourds ranged from 1.1 to 12.8 lbs/plant in 2001 whereas they were 0 to 5.4 lbs/plant in 2002. Likewise decorative fruit number per plant varied from 2.7 to 25.3 in 2001 and was only 0 to 14.8 in 2002. A similar situation occurred with the utilitarian gourds. What might account for these results? The gourds were planted 11 days later in 2002 than in 2001 yet were harvested about 10 days earlier. The growing period was likely reduced in 2002 by the heavy rainfall; 26.77 inches during the growing period in 2002 compared to 16.99 inches during the growing period in 2001.
There is little additional information available on gourd yields and comparisons are difficult because of the great variations in weight among varieties and the stage of maturity when the fruit is harvested. Tindall (1983) reports that each bottle gourd plant produces 10 to15 fruit weighing 1.1 to 3.3 lbs each for a plant yield of 11 to 50 lb/plant. Except for ‘Miniature Bottle’, the utilitarian gourds in this trial produced yields within the 11 to 50 lb/plant range.
Some general observations that summarize the results of this trial and potential for production are:
Additional Information on GourdsCucurbit Network Website: www.cucurbit.org Heiser, C. B. Jr. 1979. The Gourd Book. Univ. of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Maynard, D. N., A. M. Dunlap, and B. J. Sidoti. 2001. Ornamental and utilitarian gourd evaluation, Fall 2001. http://gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Gourd%20webpage/index.htm Naylor, N. M. and T. A. More (eds.). 1998. Cucurbits. Science Publishers, Enfield, N. H. Robinson, R. W. and D. S. Decker-Walters. 1997. Cucurbits. CAB International, New York. Tindall, H. D. 1983. Vegetables in the Tropics. Macmillan Press, London. Whitaker, T. W. and G. N. Davis. 1962. Cucurbits. Botany, Cultivation and Utilization. Interscience Publishers, New York. |
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