Upo Tambuli – Upo (Lagenaria siceraria) is an herbaceous, annual climbing plant. Fruits are globular, bottle, or club-shape, with hard, durable rind. The most common types are light green and dark green with light green spots.
Soil and climate requirements
Bottle gourd thrives in many types of soil but grows well in light, organic rich soil. A 6.0-7 soil pH is recommended. It performs well all year round at a temperature range of 18 -30 C. it can be grown in low- to mid-elevation areas.
Land preparation
Plow and harrow the areas 2-3 times. Make furrows 3-4 m apart.Provide adjacent plots with canals for furrow irrigation. Mix thoroughly well-decomposed animal manure at 2-3/ha and/or 14-14-14 at 3 bags/ha during bed preparation.
Planting
Bottle gourd is plated either by direct seeding or transplanting. Seeding rate is 2-3 kg/ha seeds. After basal fertilization with organic and/or inorganic fertilizers, directly sow seeds per hills at a spacing of 2-3 m between rows and 1-1.5 m between hills. Cover lightly with soil and apply mulch using grass clippings or rice straw. If transplanted, sow seeds in plastic trays or plastic cups with a potting mix composed of coir dust or rice hull ash, compost, and garden soil at 1:1:1 ratio, water the soil before and after sowing. Cover the trays with paper or a thin layer of rice straw to minimize moisture loss. Keep in partial shade of up to 30% because higher shading levels will result in weak and lanky seedlings, Water regularly, Transplant 2-3 weeks after sowing