CO 2
A 1982 TNAU selection from a Coimbatore local type. Small oblong fruit (2–4 kg on TNAU's cultivation page, 2–3 kg in its booklet), 120–130 days, and a long vine. It is also a parent of TNAU's ash gourd hybrid CO 1.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- ~120–130 days
- Seed rate
- 2.5 kg/ha for varieties (open-pollinated); dibbled 2 seeds per hill
- Expected yield
- 34 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), 1982
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
CO 2 is an ash gourd variety that Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) released in 1982, selected from a Coimbatore local type. The fruit is small and oblong, 2 to 4 kg on TNAU's cultivation page and 2 to 3 kg in its variety booklet. The crop stays 120 to 130 days and TNAU gives a yield of 34 t/ha, higher than CO 1 (20 to 25 t/ha). The vine is long: 13.48 m in an Odisha trial, against a trial mean of 8.83 m. CO 2 is one parent of TNAU's ash gourd hybrid CO 1 (PAG 3 x CO 2). The sowing package is the same as for CO 1: July or January, pits of 30 x 30 x 30 cm at 2 x 1.5 m, and 2.5 kg/ha of seed.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose CO 2 if your buyers want small fruit and you want a quicker crop than CO 1. TNAU released it in 1982 from a Coimbatore local type, with 120 to 130 days and 34 t/ha, and fruit of 2 to 4 kg on its cultivation page (2 to 3 kg in its booklet). Do not choose it for large petha-type fruit or for the longest storage. Take CO 1 or Kashi Dhawal for that. Remember that 34 t/ha is TNAU's yield potential, and TNAU's page also lists 30 to 35 t/ha for varieties in general.
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
- Shorter crop duration than CO 1, freeing land sooner.
- Notably high yield (~34 t/ha) thanks to setting many smaller fruit per vine.
- Smaller, more manageable fruit size suits smaller households and quicker vegetable-market turnover.
Things to consider
- Small fruit (2 to 4 kg) is not what petha makers or long storage want; CO 1 or Kashi Dhawal suit those better
- The vine is long (13.48 m in an Odisha trial), so it needs room despite the small fruit
- 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
Small fruit, long vine: plan the ground before you sow
A 2 to 4 kg fruit sounds like a small, tidy crop. The vine is not. In the Odisha trial CO-2 ran to 13.48 m, against a trial mean of 8.83 m. TNAU's pits are 2 x 1.5 m apart, which gives each pit 3 m2 of ground, so the vines will run well beyond their own pit and into the next.
That has two uses. Keep walking paths clear before the vines run, so you can pick and scout without trampling stems. And put your fruit fly traps and your weekly scouting on a fixed route, because TNAU's advice is to destroy affected fruit quickly and hang about 50 fish-meal traps a hectare.
For the number of fruits, count rather than guess. TNAU gives 34 t/ha and a fruit of 2 to 4 kg, which works out to between about 8,500 and 17,000 fruits a hectare. That is our arithmetic and it is wide. Count the fruits on one pit in your first crop and you will know where you stand.
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 1 | 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 2this page | 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
Is CO 2 a parent of any TNAU hybrid?
Yes. TNAU's ash gourd hybrid CO 1 is a cross of PAG 3 and CO 2. TNAU lists it at 120 to 130 days, with oblong fruit of 4 to 5 kg and an average yield of 91.82 t/ha. That is a trial-level figure, and the same page also gives 80 to 90 t/ha for hybrids. Hybrid seed is bought fresh each season, so CO 2 is the one to pick if you want to save your own seed.
How long is a CO 2 vine?
In a 15-genotype trial in Gajapathi, Odisha (J. Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 10(1), 2021), CO-2 had a vine of 13.48 m, the third longest after Pusa Ujjwal (14.74 m) and Mahima (13.79 m). The trial mean was 8.83 m. So a small fruit does not mean a small vine. Leave room on the bund or bower.
When do I sow CO 2, and how far apart?
TNAU lists July and January. 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 for varieties. Irrigate the basin before sowing the seed and then once a week.
Does CO 2 resist mildew?
We found no resistance claim for CO 2 from TNAU. For powdery mildew TNAU lists dinocap at 1 ml a litre or carbendazim at 0.5 g a litre. For downy mildew it lists mancozeb or chlorothalonil at 2 g a litre, sprayed twice 10 days apart. Scout the leaves weekly in a humid spell.
Sourced from: Ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) — TNAU Agritech Portal, Horticulture, Varietal evaluation of ash gourd in Gajapathi district — J. Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 10(1), 2021. editorial policy.