Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F.), a member of the family Cucurbitaceae, is an important leaf and seed vegetable indigenous to southeastern Nigeria and widely cultivated across the warm regions of the world. This crop is central to the culture and survival of many communities in Nigeria, with farmers relying on traditional methods of cultivation, storage, and propagation to conserve plant biodiversity.
Nigeria, like many tropical nations, faces production restrictions on vegetable crops due to inadequate soil fertility, weed control, and low-yielding varieties. Crop production in Nigeria is currently challenged by low yield, attributed to inadequate soil fertility and a lack of essential mineral nutrients in the soil. Therefore, improving soil fertility by the application of fertilizer or manure is a crucial component in growing vegetables.
Fluted pumpkin cultivating is an exponentially developing industry in Nigeria. Both the seeds and the plant's leaves have many potential uses, so it's no big surprise that it's getting a considerable measure of consideration from ranchers and budgetary financial specialists.
Fluted pumpkin, also called ugu (ugwu) or fluted gourd, is a product local to Southern Nigeria. As indicated by the latest investigations, fluted pumpkins are yearly devoured by thirty to forty million individuals in the nation. Subsequently, they have turned out to be one of the best offering kinds of harvests Nigeria.
Addressing Soil Fertility Challenges
Utilizing amendments in the form of organic and inorganic fertilizers is one method for reversing the soil’s deterioration and unproductiveness. However, the usage of synthetic fertilizer has not been sustainable due to the physical degradation, nutritional imbalance, and soil acidity that it causes in tropical soils. The decomposition and release of nutrients for crop use are delayed by the direct incorporation of animal and plant-derived wastes into the soil.
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Therefore, it is crucial to discover the best methods for transforming these wastes into products that will that make their nutrients easily accessible to crops and decrease the quantity of carbon dioxide released into the environment, which contributes to global warming, is therefore essential.
Poultry manure a major waste from poultry enterprise when utilized as soil amendment input, enhances soil chemical characteristics, soil tilt, and biological activities. While poultry manure has been determined to be the most valuable of all manures produced by livestock, it also has one of the highest nutrient contents of any animal manure, and using it as a soil amendment for agricultural crops will provide significant amounts of all of these nutrients.
The inclusion of biochar is one newly developed management technique to preserve higher agricultural yields and transform wastes. Biochar boosts soil nutrient availability and prevents leaching, encourages the activity of agriculturally significant soil microorganisms, acts as a potent carbon sink for several hundred years, sequesters atmospheric CO2 in soil, reduces emissions of other greenhouse gases, and lessens the negative effects of agrochemicals.
Experimental Study on Fluted Pumpkin Cultivation
An experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm, Department of Crop Production and Horticulture, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Nigeria during the 2022 cropping season to evaluate the impact of wood shavings biochar (WSB) and poultry manure (PM) on soil properties and fluted pumpkin yield.
The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) on a total area of land measuring 171 m2 which was divided into three (3) blocks of 15 plots. Fluted pumpkin seeds were planted in situ at a spacing of 50 cm x 50 cm. Vines were staked, and hand weeding was done at 3 and 5 weeks after planting. Insecticides were used to effectively manage pests at intervals of every two weeks.
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Following prescribed protocols, wood shavings were gathered from a carpentry workshop in Ijede, Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria, and turned into biochar in a reactor at the Department of Crop Production and Horticulture. Soil samples were collected before and after harvesting to determine the soil’s physiochemical properties.
For the purpose of gathering information on growth and yield parameters, six (6) plant stands were randomly selected and tagged per plot. While yield parameters were obtained during harvest, growth parameters were measured at 2, 4, 6, and 8 Weeks After Planting (WAP).
Data collected was analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
Fluted pumpkin creation comprises of a few phases, for example, arrangement, planting, administration, gathering, and post-collecting taking care of. The main thing you have to do is to choose the site where your products will be planted. Next, you have to set up the dirt for seeding. Fluted pumpkins develop best on very much depleted surfaces with an unbiased pH level. The larger part of agriculturists have conceded that they plant the organic products amid the dry season, amongst November and February. Fluted pumpkins are typically developed in the middle of April and May. The plant is known to be dry season safe and amazingly adaptable as far as soil.
One of the main creation hones you'll need to browse is whether you'll sow the fluted pumpkin exclusively or will it be intercropped with different kinds of deliver.
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To plant your fluted pumpkins, you have to sow the seeds directly into the ground. There are additionally various generation rehearses engaged with this procedure. When you're planting the seeds, you can put them into the gaps either by one, a few. The seeds should be put into the dirt at a profundity of three to five centimeters. The prescribed proportion is thirty to seventy thousand seeds for every hectare while leaving around 0.3 to 1 meter of room between the gatherings.
If you need your fluted pumpkins to yield more leaves, at that point sow them nearer to each other.
Weed the products two times previously the pumpkin's covering is sufficiently solid to dispose of the weeds without anyone else.
You can reap the principal leaves, which are generally more imperative for a fluted pumpkin rancher, a month after you sow the seeds. Notwithstanding, proficient agriculturists like to postpone the main collect until a month and a half in the wake of planting.
Next, you can keep gathering the leaves in cycles that last from two weeks to a month. The organic products can be grabbed inside two months of their setting.
You can yield around five hundred to a thousand kilograms of leaves for each hectare, or much higher on the off chance that you utilize the correct administration framework.
The last creation hone for fluted pumpkins is their stockpiling. Gathered leaves keep up their freshness and wellbeing advantageous traits just for 24 hours unless contained in jute sacks that can drag out their time span of usability up to three days. The seeds are left untouched in the natural products until the point that they are required for sowing or eating.
Impact of WSB and PM on Soil Properties
The pre-cropping soil study indicated that the site was mildly alkaline (pH 8.69), low in organic matter (0.18%), total nitrogen (0.16%), and available P (5.28 ppm), as well as low in exchangeable bases Na (0.15 cmol/kg), K (0.17 cmol/kg), Ca (2.45 cmol/kg), and Mg (1.96 cmol/kg).
The post-soil analysis showed a significant difference (p < 0.5) in the soil pH, Ca, K, and Mg content as a result of the application of WSB and PM.
The soil’s concentration of Ca (14.83 mg/kg), K (36.30 mg/kg), and Mg (23.66 mg/kg) all considerably increased with the addition of 7.5 t/ha WSB. In a similar vein, the application of WSB and PM had a substantial (p 0.05) impact on the total nitrogen, available P, and Total Organic Matter (TOM) contents of the experimental soil.
The soil’s total N concentration was found to be highest in plots provided with 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM (0.33%), followed closely by plots supplied with 7.5 t/ha WSB (0.31%), and lowest in the control (0.21%). Similar trends were seen for the contents of available P and TOM, with the highest composition being found in 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM (28.65 mg/kg and 3.21%, respectively), closely followed by the application of 7.5 t/ha WSB (26.13 mg/kg and 3.08%), and the lowest being found in 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM (19.77 mg/kg and 2.51%).
| Treatment | pH | Ca (mg/kg) | K (mg/kg) | Mg (mg/kg) | Total N (%) | Available P (mg/kg) | TOM (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | - | - | - | - | 0.21 | 19.77 | 2.51 |
| 7.5 t/ha WSB | - | 14.83 | 36.30 | 23.66 | 0.31 | 26.13 | 3.08 |
| 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM | - | - | - | - | 0.33 | 28.65 | 3.21 |
Impact of WSB and PM on Vine Length
Fluted pumpkin vine length at 6 and 8 WAP was significant (p < 0.05) inclined by WSB and PM application. The longest vines were recorded in 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM at 6 (117.07 cm) and 8WAP (175.51 cm) correspondingly followed by 111.74 cm and 167.81 cm recorded from 7.5 t/ha WSB while the shortest vine (65.69 and 91.78 cm) was experiential in the control.
| Treatment | Vine Length at 6 WAP (cm) | Vine Length at 8 WAP (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| Control | 65.69 | 91.78 |
| 7.5 t/ha WSB | 111.74 | 167.81 |
| 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM | 117.07 | 175.51 |
Impact of WSB and PM on Number of Leaves
At 2, 6, and 8 WAP, the fluted pumpkin produced significantly different numbers of leaves (p 0.05). At 2 WAP, 7.5 t/ha WSB (32.95) and 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5, t/ha PM (31.34) had the most leaves, followed by 2.5 t/ha wood shavings biochar + 5 t/ha poultry manure (27.12), while the control had the fewest (18.43). At 6 and 8 WAP, fluted pumpkins with the fewest leaves (102.25 and 153.67) were found in the control, while those with the most leaves (146.74 and 212.17, as well as 143.00 and 211.17) were found in 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM and 7.5 t/ha WSB, respectively.
| Treatment | Number of Leaves at 2 WAP | Number of Leaves at 6 WAP | Number of Leaves at 8 WAP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | 18.43 | 102.25 | 153.67 |
| 7.5 t/ha WSB | 32.95 | 143.00 | 211.17 |
| 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM | 31.34 | 146.74 | 212.17 |
Impact of WSB and PM on Stem Girth
At 6 WAP, the fluted pumpkin’s stem girth development was significantly (p < 0.05) impacted by the application of WSB and PM. The thickest stem (2.58 cm) was found in plots that received 5 t/ha WSB and 2.5 t/ha PM, and it was followed by 2.54 cm, which was recorded from 7.5 t/ha WSB and was not statistically different from the other two. In contrast, the control plot had the thinnest stem (1.98 cm).
| Treatment | Stem Girth (cm) at 6 WAP |
|---|---|
| Control | 1.98 |
| 7.5 t/ha WSB | 2.54 |
| 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM | 2.58 |
The results of this trial showed that 5 t/ha WSB + 2.5 t/ha PM and 7.5 t/ha WSB performed best, followed by 2.5 t/ha WSB + 5 t/ha PM and 7.5 t/ha PM, while the control showed the worst results. This pattern was seen in the fluted pumpkin’s growth, post-harvest soil physio-chemical characteristics, and yield.
WBS has demonstrated high performance because biochar has a considerable potential to increase the availability of nutrients in the soil. Mixing biochar with other soil amendments like manure or lime can increase its effectiveness because biochar has been shown to control nutrients and prevent them from leaching. This increases the availability of nutrients by raising the pH of the soil, which was significantly raised by the biochar used in this experiment.
The combined effect of biochar and poultry manure in improving soil chemical properties as seen in the current study may be caused by the possibility that adding poultry manure to biochar may facilitate surface oxidation of the latter by increasing temperature, particularly at the start of the process. The high microbial activity or the co-metabolic decay during the breakdown of accessible carbon sources also changes the characteristics of biochar in a biological way.
The use of WSB and PM was hypothesized to significantly boost the development and yield of fluted pumpkins. The applied biochar may have contributed to the improvement in soil qualities that led to an increase in the majority of the parameters measured as shown in this study. Thus, by giving the required plant nutrients, the addition of biochar and PM had a favorable effect on the plant parameters.
Additionally, it may be inferred that longer vines would result in more branches, more leaves, and enhanced stem girth development. The significant interaction between the WSB and PM on the yield of fluted pumpkins suggested that the WSB had the potential to increase the efficiency of nutrient utilization in the PM.
The output of fluted pumpkin leaves may have increased as a result of the addition of WSB and PM, which may have decreased nutrient loss and enhanced the soil’s capacity to store nutrients. The significant interaction between the WSB and PM on the yield of fluted pumpkins suggested that the WSB had the potential to increase the efficiency of nutrient utilization in the PM.
The output of fluted pumpkin leaves may have increased as a result of the addition of WSB and PM, which may have decreased nutrient loss and enhanced the soil’s capacity to store nutrients.
This pattern was seen in the fluted pumpkin’s growth, post-harvest soil physio-chemical characteristics, and yield.
Sustainable vegetable cultivation requires adequate soil fertility. The nutrients in tropical soils are insufficient.
Some traditional crops are central to the culture and survival of a community of people.
And the way farmers cultivate, store and propagate crops is an important part of conserving plant biodiversity in any particular region.
Seed Size and Mulching Effects
This experiment studied the effects of seed weight and mulching material on the growth and productivity of fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis), an important leafy vegetable crop widely cultivated in southern Nigeria. The study aimed to optimize the conditions for improved fluted pumpkin cultivation in Nsukka area of Enugu State, Nigeria.
A field experiment with a 2 x 3 factorial in randomized complete block design (RCBD) was conducted to evaluating two factors: seed weight (1-9.9g vs >10g) and mulching material (dry grass, black polyethylene sheet, and no mulch). Parameters measured included vine length, number of nodes and leaves, vine girth, survival count, and above-ground biomass at 5, 7, and 9 weeks after planting.
The results showed that while mulch type did not significantly influence the measured agronomic parameters, seed size had a considerable impact. Larger seeds (>10g) consistently outperformed smaller seeds across all growth parameters, with significant differences observed in survival count and vegetative traits.
The interaction effects revealed synergistic benefits when combining larger seeds with polyethylene mulch, enhancing leaf production, node development, and vine extension. Additionally, the combination of larger seeds with shredded grass mulch boosted vine girth and biomass accumulation, likely due to improved soil moisture conditions.
The study recommends utilizing larger Telfairia seeds (>10g) in combination with shredded grass mulch to maximize vegetative growth development and yield.
Most people in the United States don’t know that Pumpkin leaves are edible.
Pumpkin leaves are best for food when they are young and tender.
Instead of waiting for the pumpkin leaves to mature, you can start picking them and their yellow flowers before pumpkin fruits even start growing.
Make sure your seeds are dry before planting them if you have retrieved them from a pumpkin at home.
Before planting pumpkin seeds, prep your soil.
I use compost soil to make sure the soil is fertile.
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