The botanical name of Chow Chow is Sechium edule
Varieties: Two types: Green fruited and White fruited.
Soil: Requires well drained acidic soil with a pH of 5.5 - 6.5 and thrives best in a temperature range of 18 - 220C and at an altitude of 1200 - 1500 m. In plains it comes up well during winter season.
Preparation of field: Dug pits of 45 cm x 45 cm x 45 cm at a spacing of 2.4 x 1.8 m.
Fill up the pits with 10 kg of FYM, 250 g of urea, 500 g of Super phosphate and 500 g of Muriate of Potash.
Season and sowing
Hills: April - May.
Fully matured and sprouted fruits collected from high yielding vines are planted in pits @ 2 – 3 per pit.
After cultivation: Hoeing and weeding are done as and when necessary.
At initiation of vine growth, stake the plants. Provide pandal at a height of 2 m height. Prune the plants to ground level during winter from second year after planting.
In hills, pruning period is January. Apply 250 g of urea for each vine after pruning and at the time of flowering.
Plant protection against Pests
For scales, mealy bugs and aphids spray dimethoate 30 EC @ 1 ml/lit.
Fruit fly
1) Collect the damaged fruits and destroy.
2) The fly population low in hot day condition and it is peak in rainy season. Hence adjust the sowing time accordingly.
3) Plough the field to expose the pupae.
4) Use polythene bags fish meal trap with 5 g of wet fish meal + 1 ml. dichlorvos in cotton. 50 traps are required/ha, fish meal + dichlorvos soaked cotton are to be renewed once in 20 and 7 days respectively.
Protection against Diseases -
Mosaic
Spray dimethoate 30 EC 2 ml/lit or methyl demeton 25 EC 2 ml/lit. thrice at fortnightly intervals.
Yield: 25 - 35 tonnes/ha.
