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Parwal Farming (Pointed Gourd) Techniques

Parwal Farming (Pointed Gourd):

The following guide is about Parwal Farming.

INTRODUCTION  TO PARWAL (Pointed Gourd):

The popular name of the pointed gourd is Parwal, and it is also known Pottal in regional language. This vegetable is named differently in every region of India. This vegetable is generally served in Indian and Bangladesh Cuisines and is also cultivated in some countries popularly. It gives a good outsource of medicinal values and vitamins. Parwal is a creeper plant. Don’t get confused about vegetables Ivy gourd/Tindora. It looks the same as these vegetables but it is a little bit bigger in size.

In India, its cultivation can be seen mostly in Northern and Eastern parts of the country. North-eastern states like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

In the Bengali speaking regions the Parwal is known as Potol. Consumption of Parwal is high in each and every part of Bangladesh and West Bengal. This plant is long lasting or exists for an infinite period of time. The crop of this plant is harvested in the month of October and is also found on sale in the same month.

The Parwal is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Carbohydrates. Trace elements (magnesium, potassium, and copper, silver) are also contained in Parwal.

COMMON NAMES OF PARWAL IN OTHER LANGUAGES:

  • Telugu: Kommu potal
  • English: Pointed Gourd
  • Hindi: Parwal
  • Tamil: kambupudalai
  • Punjabi: Parwal
  • Oriya: Patal
  • Bengali: Patol
  • Marathi: Paraval
  • Urdu: Prora.

HYBRID VARIETIES OF PARWAL AND SPECIFICATIONS:

Parwal Varieties.
Parwal Varieties.

SWARNA REKHA:

It is pointed and elongated. It is high yielding variety among all the parwal hybrid varieties. The skin color is green with stripes on it. This variety of parwal contains seeds which are soft. This variety is mainly cultivated in states like Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar. February is the planting time of this variety and maturity month is in September. The yield of the plant on an average is 30-35 tons per hectare. Average spacing of 1 m is used in between the plants. The number of plants which can be planted in a hector of land is 10,000.

SWARNA SURUCHI:

This variety of parwal is oval in shape. It is light green in color. This variety is mostly used in food preparation and sweet preparation. This variety has high cultivation rate in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Orissa. This variety of plant is planted in February and plant gets matured in the month of September. An average spacing of 1 m is used for the plants. An average yield of this plant is 25-30 tons per hectare. The number of plants which can be planted in a hectare of land is 10,000.

SWARNA ALAUKIK:

This variety of parwal is elongated in shape. It is green in color. This variety of parwal mostly used in the preparation of food and sweets. This variety is first rate cultivation can be in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Orissa. Planted in the month of February and matured in the month of September. An average spacing of 1m is used for the plant. An average yield of this variety is 20-25 tons per hectare. The number of plants which can be planted in a hector of land is 10,000.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF FARMING PARWAL:

The beneficial points of farming and consuming Parwal are:

  • Parwal helps control blood pressure.
  • It controls blood sugar levels
  • Parwal helps in age defence.
  • The digestion process improves with the intake of Parwal.
  • It helps in purifying the blood.
  • Parwal is also most important in weight loss process.
  • It prevents us from constipation problem.

The parwal is also used in ayurvedic medicines that made for a headache, skin diseases, liver diseases, wounds and cough.

PARWAL FARMING METHOD:

Parwal Growing Conditions.
Parwal Growing Conditions.
  1. Soil and Climatic Conditions for Parwal Farming:

The soil that is required for parwal farming is Clay or sandy loam soil. The temperature that suits the crop for cultivation is 30-35 degree Celsius. The water stress can be adaptable by the plant but it can’t undergo waterlogging. The plant thrives more in high-rainfall than the normal climatic condition especially in north-eastern parts of India. The Parwal farm cultivation is done in the summer season.

  1. Spacing for Parwal Farming:

As we know creeper crop needs more space for creeping through the stems. The spacing of plants depends upon the soil fertility, plant population and irrigation method (drip or flood).

  1. Propagation for Parwal Farming:
  • Seed propagation: Through seed propagation, it may take a long time for the seed to convert into a plant and it also causes a late flowering of reproductive progeny.
  • 10% of flowing and fruiting plants only use pollination process. And the rest 50% is the seed-based propagation of non-fruiting staminate plants.
  • Vegetative propagation: In this method the cuttings of matured plants are pre-rooted. For ensuring reproduction of same fruit type, yield and quality.
  • In the month of October, the plants are rooted in the plating pits of the nursery or in the polybags filled with soil. The rooted stem may be 1 m long as it is being cut from 1 year old plant.
  • In the month of February and March, the plants are transplanted into the fields. Alternatively the 20-30 meter long matured vine is cut and rooted in the nursery in the month of October.
  • The 1m long plant is directly rooted into the same plant of 20-30 m deep and the field is filled with manure and covered with the moist soil.
  • Cuttings of mature plants which are re-rooted showed 90% success rate in farming parwal. Where the terminal cutting showed morality of plants.
  • This process is continued in farming of parwal. It is easy and fast and also gives good success rate.
  • Tissue propagation: It is also called micropropagation. The production of multiple plants from a small piece of plant tissue or organ cultured in a nutrient medium. 
  1. Planting method for Parwal Farming:

In planting the root suckers are used. In the early spring season, the tuber of Parwal should be planted into the soil. They will be replanted after subdivision. If we are using vine cutting, the previous year fall season plants are used. The plants are rooted in the winter season for cultivation. The vines which are used should be fresh and should at least have 8-10 nodes which are used for planting purpose. For planting the fresh vines or rerooted plants can also be used. The vines also must be used as a default. It is used to control the circumstances. The ratio of planting are 1:9 i.e. one male plant of nine female plants should be planted. The fruiting would be set.

  1. Irrigation method for Parwal Farming:

The most important part of Parwal farming is irrigation. The first irrigation is started after immediate planting. The irrigation is provided as required by the Parwal plant. Overfilling of water may cause water-logging that may rot the plant root. The excess water must be filtered during the rainy season. In summer, the water supply must be more for the plants as it is the dry season. For less consumption of water, the sprinkler and drip irrigation can be used. Enrichment for the plant can also be done. It keeps away from weeds and also keeps the soil moist. 

  1. Manure and Fertilizer for Parwal Farming:

Farmyard manure which is well decomposed must be used at the time of preparation and planting. Macronutrients such as Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus must be applied in split doses in proper quantity. Before Nutrition Management a soil test is necessary. Fertilizer must be applied after the soil test. Too many chemicals can also harm the yield and form. This will make the soil dry and destroy the crop. The fertilizer must be applied appropriately. The micronutrients should also be applied accordingly to prevent deficiency of micronutrients in farmland. After applying the macronutrients, micronutrients, and fertilizers the land must be irrigated.

  1. Intercultural Operations in Parwal Farming:

In earliest times, the weeds were removed from the yield farm manually. Chemical or Manual methods must be used in control of weeds. It is also proved that the natural method is also very effective to control the weeds in the farm. In parwal farming the training is very important. The parwal plant’s vine helps the plant to grow supportively. For proper growth of plants training and support must be provided. For extra income in the business of farming the parwal intercropping method can also be used. Weeds can be treated by spraying 1% Gramaxone per hectare of land.

  1. Diseases and Pest control for Parwal Farming:

The diseases and pest control management for the parwal farming and their management as follows:

  • Mosaic viruses.
  • Red beetles.
  • Epilachna beetle.
  • Downy Mildew.
  • Fruit flies.
  • Red Pumpkin beetle.
  • Root-Knot Nematode.
  • Fruit Rot.

Mostly, all these diseases are only caused in the rainy season in India. All the above diseases are due to infections caused by fungus, virus, insects and pests. They can be treated by using 60 to 80 kg of nitrogen, 40 kg of phosphorous and 40 to 50 kg of potassium fertilizers per hectare of land.

  1. Harvesting in Parwal Farming Cultivation:

In general, parwal vines start fruiting in 120-140 days after transplanting in the month of February and it continues till September. After 15-18 days of pollination, these vegetables can be harvested before they reach full maturity. The most preferable option is weekly harvesting of the crop. In the month of July-October, the crop is ready to harvest. The fruits shouldn’t be ripening fully otherwise the flesh ripens and seeds get harder. This makes the fruit for eating unsuitable. The fruits which are immature and tender must be selected for harvesting.

  1. The yield of Parwal Farming:

The complete yield depends upon the crop management, fertilizers, and irrigation. In the farming of P

Yield of Parwal.
Yield of Parwal.

arwal crop, the yield rate is 15-20 tonnes per hectare.

 

  1. Post-Harvest Management of Parwal Yield:

The parwal veggies must be washed and cleaned after harvesting them. They should also be sorted out as per their quality. They must be packed properly in boxes which are easy for the transportation facility. They can also be stored for appropriate storage conditions.

  1. Marketing of the Parwal:

Local market areas can be used for the best marketing service to get the business profit of the yield. They can also be exported to other states or countries which make more profit in the business.

CONCLUSION:

In tropical countries, such as India and Bangladesh the Parwal is an important crop. Even in Asian and Temperate countries the Parwal farming and consumption is becoming popular. In view of Nutritional values, Parwal farming is a good alternative for home gardens. The two main prospects of Parwal farming is Temperate Climate which is fit for the farming sources and the demand in the market for its fruit.

India and Bangladesh need vast diversity in farming of parwal which should be exploited through expanding the hybridization. The genetic progeny would release a large amount of species variability from parental clones. The progeny with new, more useful genetics which combines would provide additional genetic materials for the improvement of this very important crop of parwal.

In addition, virus-free planting materials can also be obtained from the procedure of Meristem culture.  The medicinal uses of Parwal fruits need to be verified to enable a more rational use of this vegetable to promote human health.

This important vegetable is consumed throughout the world. The product can be exported to other countries when the cultivation is commercialized. All over India and Bangladesh there are many varieties of Parwal which are cultivated. The hybrid varieties can give the farmer high yielding returns. The nutrients like macro and micro should be supplied to the crop accordingly. As well as the irrigation should also be supplied accordingly, this may increase the growth of the yield effectively. Income can be multiplied by exporting them to the international and national markets.

Read Terrace Garden Planting.

Read Country Chicken Farming Project Report. 

1 COMMENT

  1. Dear Sir,
    Good day to you.

    We are from Bangladesh. We are in agriculture of potol. We are using hand pollination process for more production in the early morning by male flowers with female flowers. But we are tired of this.

    My question is –
    Is there any medicine or hormonal medicines that can help us to spray on flowers to avoid hand pollination for growing production?
    Would be so grateful if you kindle give any suggestion.
    Thanks and Regards,
    Mohammad Nazrul Islam

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