Squash is one of the most delicious and versatile vegetables grown worldwide and contains the utmost vitamins and excellent health benefits. Squash is an annual herbaceous vine, creeping and trailing plant and produces a large vegetable in size, colour, shape and markings, which are scaly on the surface. This vegetable belongs to the genus of “Cucurbita” and the family of “Cucurbitaceae”. There are mainly two types of squash; winter squash and summer squash, and most summer squash have a bushy growth habit, unlike the rambling vines of many winter squash.
India is the best place to grow squash commercially, as the squash is a warm-season crop. Farmers can also grow the squash in a greenhouse and under a shade net. Farmers can grow the squash in containers, pots and backyards as well.
Process of Squash Farming in India
When you start squash farming, choose the equipment made according to the respective agriculture, which is most important. However, in squash cultivation, you can choose a popular tractor brand. So you should be well-known and careful about the equipment involved in farming. However, you should buy the AC tractor models and other equipment. These tractors are comfortable for operators so they are easy to drive. And you can check the AC tractor price online. Let’s look at the process of squash farming with complete specifications.
Varieties of Squash
Squash are two types such as winter squash and summer squash. You can find various improved varieties within these groups. Acorn Squash, Ambercup Squash, Autumn Cup Squash, Butternut Squash, Buttercup Squash, Carnival Squash, Banana Squash, Fairytale Pumpkin Squash, and Delicata Squash are the best varieties. Apart from this, Gold Nugget Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Hubbard Squash, Kabocha Squash, Sweet Dumpling Squash, and Turban squash are some varieties grown around the world. Due to its quality, butternut squash is gaining popularity, and sunburn is not an intricate problem.
Climate Requirements
Squash can thrive better in hot climatic conditions and is a warm-season crop. It can not withstand any frost conditions. The optimum monthly average temperature for good quality and yield is 22 °C to 29 °C. Squash seeds germinate best at 28°C – 32°C. When the soil temperatures are high enough to germinate the seeds and the last season is passed, then sowing/planting of squash is recommended.
Soil Requirements
You can cultivate the squash in a variety of soils. However, it grows best in well-drained sandy loam soils rich in organic matter. But if they are grown in clay soils, it would be a difficult task to harvest the crop in the wet field, and it needs extra labour to clean them. If farmers grow the squash on a large scale, they should avoid the low-lying fields and do soil testing to find the nutrient deficiencies for the farm. The pH of optimum soil is 5.5 to 6.5 and results in the best fruit quality and good yield.
Apart from this, we should make the soil suitable for squash farming by preparing it with the help of farm implements and machines, including tractors, tillers, cultivators etc. The tractor is the most prominent factor while using the equipment in squash farming, and when you start farming in a small garden, you need to use the mini tractor. This orchard tractor is very helpful for marginal farmers. You can also easily get the Mini tractor price online.
Seed Rate and Propagation
Farmers do the squash propagation through seeds. However, you can reproduce the plants vegetatively by cutting. Generally, farmers can directly transplant or seed summer squash for early marketing. Almost you require 2 to 4 kg of seeds for one-hectare land.
Land Preparation, Sowing Time and Method
Prepare the field by doing 2 to 3 ploughing and harrowing and then ploughing the field at a 2 m. You should make the pit with a country plough or tractor to a depth of 15 cm. Remove any weeds from previous crops. Digging a pit between the hills at 2 to 3 metres is advisable. Sowing the seeds in moist soil is recommended 2.5 to 4 cm deep. For spacing, medium-vine squash should plant in 2.0 to 2.0 m rows, with plants spaced 0.5 to 0.6 m in rows. For larger varieties, provide additional spacing.
Irrigation Requirement
For better output, you should carry out frequent irrigation in dry and drought conditions. You should furrow irrigation after every 10-day interval, especially vegetative, planting and flowering and fruit. After fruit maturity, avoid the irrigation; you can adopt drip irrigation for better water management.
Squash Farming – Weed Control
In squash farming, weeding is a core activity regularly to get the highest yield. You should do the hand weeding and hoe for squash farming. While planting is around 2 weeks old, carry out the shallow cultivation to control the weed growth. Before vines cover the ground, shallow cultivation of plants is required to keep the soil in good tillage and free from weeds. Vines may be trained to grow over a trellis or fence.
Flowering and Fruiting of Squash
The flowering and fruiting happen naturally. The fruits fall when they ripen and get rotten on some days. The fruit’s seed doesn’t develop roots and starts germinating like other fruit crops. You should cut the fruit from the tree, which should be in a damp and dark place to develop new buds and new leaves from it.
The squash fruit has a great ability for good germination, and it starts on its own without any particular place for germination. For example: If you leave the fruit at a warm temperature, after a few days, it starts tendering the shoot and begins to grow. When the plant is ready, the stem reaches 20-25 cm of its tendrils.
Harvesting
Harvesting should be done once a week. We should harvest such fruits which are smooth in texture and not fibrous. You should always do the harvesting early in the morning. So that the morning temperature remains low and the fruit stays fresh.
Equipment Requirement
When you want information about squash farming, you should also know the tools that will help increase the yield. Rotavators, cultivators, and tractors are essential in squash farming. However, of all the equipment, the tractor is the most important. Therefore you can choose the Farmtrac tractor models in India and any other tractor brand models. And you can be well known with all tractor price by checking online.
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