CO 1
A 1971 TNAU selection from a Tamil Nadu local type. Large, oblong-oval fruit (8–10 kg on TNAU's cultivation page, 6.8 kg mean in its booklet) and a long crop of 140–150 days.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- ~140–150 days to full maturity
- Seed rate
- 2.5 kg/ha for varieties (open-pollinated); dibbled 2 seeds per hill
- Expected yield
- 20–25 t/ha (TNAU)
- Suitable soil
- Deep loamy soil, pH 6.5 to 7.5 (TNAU).
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance widely documented
- Release
- Released by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), 1971
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
CO 1 is an ash gourd variety that Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) released in 1971, selected from a local Tamil Nadu type. The fruit is large and oblong-oval. TNAU's cultivation page gives 8 to 10 kg a fruit, while its variety booklet gives a mean of about 6.8 kg, so plan on the lower figure. The crop stays 140 to 150 days and TNAU gives 20 to 25 t/ha. That long season is what lets the wax coat and rind harden for storage or petha-making. TNAU's package for ash gourd varieties is July or January sowing, pits of 30 x 30 x 30 cm at 2 x 1.5 m, 5 to 6 seeds a pit thinned to 2, and 2.5 kg/ha of seed.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose CO 1 if you want large fruit with a long shelf life and can keep the field for 140 to 150 days. TNAU released it in 1971 and gives 20 to 25 t/ha. Fruit weight is where the sources split: TNAU's cultivation page says 8 to 10 kg, while its variety booklet says a mean of 6.8 kg. Plan on the lower figure. Do not choose it for a quick crop or for small household fruit. CO 2 takes 120 to 130 days, and TNAU rates it at 34 t/ha.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJuly and January (TNAU).
- Seed rate2.5 kg/ha for varieties (open-pollinated); dibbled 2 seeds per hill
- SpacingPits 2 × 1.5 m
- Sowing methodPits of 30 x 30 x 30 cm formed into basins; 5 to 6 seeds a pit, thinned to 2 after germination (TNAU).
- IrrigationIrrigate the basin before sowing the seed, then once a week (TNAU).
- FertilizerPer pit: 10 kg FYM and 100 g of 6:12:12 NPK as basal, and 10 g N at 30 days after sowing (TNAU).
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Large fruit size (averaging 6–7 kg) suits both fresh-market and processing use.
- A long-established, well-proven standard variety for Tamil Nadu conditions.
Things to consider
- TNAU's own documents disagree on fruit weight (8 to 10 kg against a 6.8 kg mean), so plan on the lower figure
- The 140 to 150 day crop is 20 days longer than CO 2, and TNAU's yield for CO 2 (34 t/ha) is higher
- No disease resistance is claimed for it
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Tamil Nadu
Five months in the field: what CO 1 costs you against CO 2
TNAU's two ash gourd varieties pull in opposite directions. CO 1 stays 140 to 150 days and TNAU gives 20 to 25 t/ha. CO 2 stays 120 to 130 days and TNAU gives 34 t/ha. On paper CO 2 wins on both time and tonnes, so CO 1 has to win somewhere else.
It wins on fruit size and on how the fruit finishes. CO 1 is the large, oblong-oval fruit, 6.8 to 10 kg depending on which TNAU document you read, and the long crop is what lets the wax coat and rind harden. If your buyer pays for big fruit, or you store fruit for weeks, that is the reason to wait 20 more days.
Do the sum before you sow. Take your buyer's price for a big fruit and a small one, multiply by the number of fruits you expect from each, and compare the two totals for the same field. If the big-fruit premium is small, CO 2 is the better use of the land. TNAU does not publish a keeping time for either variety, so test a few fruits in your own store before you promise a buyer.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO 1this page | Tamil Nadu farmers who want big, long-keeping fruit and can give the field 5 months | ~140–150 days to full maturity | 20–25 t/ha (TNAU) | Tamil Nadu |
| CO 2 | Tamil Nadu farmers who sell small fruit to households and want the higher-yielding TNAU variety | ~120–130 days | 34 t/ha (TNAU) | Tamil Nadu |
| Indu | Kerala farmers who want the KAU variety with good flesh thickness and medium-sized fruit | Not published (KAU variety page gives no days) | 24.5 t/ha potential; mean fruit weight 4.82 kg (KAU) | Kerala |
| Kashi Dhawal | North Indian farmers who sell to petha makers and can give the vine 5 m between rows | 110 days to first harvest; 110–115 days seed to seed (IIVR) | 575 q/ha average (57.5 t/ha); 800 q/ha potential (IIVR) | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi |
| Mahyco MAHY-1 (F1 hybrid) | Farmers who want to test a private F1 hybrid against a public variety before scaling up | 110–120 days | No independent figure found | Wide adaptability |
| Namdhari NS 4912 (F1 hybrid) | Farmers who want to test a short-duration private hybrid for the fresh market | 80–85 days | No independent figure found | Wide adaptability |
| Pusa Ujjwal | Farmers with a lot of land per plant who want many medium-heavy fruits on each vine | Not published (no release record found) | 31.14 kg a plant in one Odisha trial (no per-hectare figure found) | Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Ash Gourd (Petha/Kumbh) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
How heavy will a CO 1 fruit be?
TNAU's two documents disagree. The cultivation page gives 8 to 10 kg a fruit. The variety booklet gives a mean of about 6.8 kg. The first is probably the best fruit and the second an average, but TNAU does not say so. Sell by weight in your first season and keep your own record.
When should I sow CO 1, and at what spacing?
TNAU lists July and January as the planting months. Dig pits of 30 x 30 x 30 cm at 2 x 1.5 m and form basins. Sow 5 to 6 seeds a pit and thin to 2 after germination. The seed rate for varieties is 2.5 kg/ha. TNAU soaks the seed in water for 30 minutes and incubates it for 6 days, then treats it with Trichoderma viride (4 g), Pseudomonas fluorescens (10 g) or carbendazim (2 g) per kg of seed.
How much fertiliser goes in each CO 1 pit?
TNAU gives, for each pit, 10 kg of FYM and 100 g of 6:12:12 NPK as basal, then 10 g of nitrogen 30 days after sowing. Its hectare totals on the same page do not agree with each other (60:30:30 in one place, 200:100:100 for fertigation in another), so use the per-pit dose and ask your KVK about a field total.
What does TNAU say about fruit fly in ash gourd?
Destroy the affected fruits, plough to bring the pupae up, hang about 50 fish-meal traps a hectare, and spray neem oil at 3.0% when needed. TNAU also warns not to use DDT, or copper and sulphur dusts, on the crop, because they burn the leaves. A crop that stays 140 to 150 days in the field has a long window for fruit fly, so start the traps early.
Should I spray Ethrel on CO 1?
TNAU's ash gourd page lists Ethrel at 250 ppm (2.5 ml in 10 litres of water), sprayed 4 times at weekly intervals from 15 days after sowing. The page does not say what it is for, and it is a growth regulator, so ask your KVK before using it. Test it on a few rows first and keep unsprayed rows to compare.
Sourced from: Ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) — TNAU Agritech Portal, Horticulture. editorial policy.