Thursday, February 19, 2009

Bottle Gourd Seedlings and Transplanting in Hydroponics

Bottle Gourd Seedlings and Transplanting in Hydroponics by Pritham "Metal Head" D'Souza

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is a widely grown tropical vegetable which has high carbohydrate content. oil can be extracted from the seed kernel and is used in hair care products. the hard shells of the bottle gourd can be used as utensils, or floats in fishing nets and even musical instruments, due to its resonating property.

i decided to try n grow bottle gourd using simplified hydroponics.


the above pic shows bottle gourd germination in plastic tub. i had sowed the seeds on jan 31, 2009 & germination took place within 3 days.

a perfect seedling of bottle gourd 3 days old


the above pic was taken when 3 leaf stage was observed. date was 10th january, 9 days after germination.


very well defined growth

for the photos below , i had simultaneously sowed 12 seeds in a germinating tray. when they were about 2 inches tall i decided to transplant them in growing tubs.

the above pic shows the substrate taking the shape of the germinating tray. looks like a peanut (chikki) sweet

one of the best photos i have taken. see clearly the well formed rooting network, clear and healthy


the actual size of the seedling for transplanting

hole dug using my thumb in the grow substrate

plugging the hole, so to speak


transplanting done.

a closer look at the leaves of the 3 leaf stage seedling shows some blackish residue. that is the bacteria gel solution i used during the initial stages of seedling growth. as the growth stage progresses, the residue(organic in nature) will disappear.

7 comments:

  1. Vow! Preetham, I'm really getting edcuated. Thank you very much for the beatiful display with minute details. My classmate in Sainik School Bijapur 1965-71, Gopal Hosur, DIG Mangalore range has been just posted there. Please call him up and ask him to visit your place as recommended by me; he will enjoy it. You can go through another classmate, Mohandas Shetty, a hotelier at Mangalore - 9448144960. By the way, his son, Bharat Shetty, may be your classmate! Bod Bless,

    Cdr. (Retd) BB Khilari

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  2. Interesting Experiment. Good Luck. I wish you come out with thrilling results. Keep up the good work, Pritham. - Shree Padre, Editor, Adike Patrike

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  3. I need suggestion reg bottle gourd, my flowers are not turning into bottle gourd but becoming black and dying off. only one bottle gourd is coming. any suggestion?

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  4. send me ur email with photo of the plant to my email id prithamdsouza@gmail.com

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  5. Hi,
    I am a Tamilnadu boy. Looking 4 organic agriculture development in India. I appreciate u and my best wishes to u. keep it always and all the best! Make India proude!

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  6. Yes Truly perfect seeding..

    Seed Drills

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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