Kashi Harit
An ICAR-IIVR (Varanasi) short-vine pumpkin notified in 2006, with dark green leaves with white spots and green spherical fruit of 2.5–3.0 kg at the green stage. The national checklist gives 300–350 q/ha in about 65 days.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Pumpkin (Kaddu)
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Zaid / summer
- Maturity period
- About 65 days of crop duration
- Expected yield
- 300–350 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No special resistance claimed
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Kashi Harit is an open-pollinated pumpkin variety from ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi, bred specifically for very quick maturity — the fastest of the major named varieties on this list. It reaches first picking in about 65 days, which lets you fit a pumpkin crop into a tighter rotation or reach the market well ahead of slower varieties. Fruit is medium-sized with good field-level yield for such a short duration, though it is bred mainly for early harvest rather than the longest possible storage life. If you want fruit to keep for months, cure it fully mature instead of picking at the earliest date.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Kashi Harit if you want to sell pumpkin at the green stage, early, and clear the land quickly. IIVR lists green, spherical fruit of 2.5–3.0 kg at the green stage on a short vine, 300–350 q/ha, notified in 2006 for Uttar Pradesh for summer and kharif. The national checklist gives about 65 days of crop duration. Choose Pusa Vishwas (400–425 q/ha) for a bigger ripe orange crop to store. Choose Arka Chandan for ripe, keeping fruit on a small plot.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Fastest maturity of the major named varieties, about 65 days of crop duration
- Fits a tighter land-rotation schedule than longer-duration varieties
- Good yield (300–350 q/ha) for such a short crop cycle
Things to consider
- Bred mainly for early harvest, not the longest storage life — still cure fully mature fruit for keeping quality
- No special disease resistance claimed
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
- Bihar
- Chhattisgarh
- Uttarakhand
Decide before sowing: green fruit or ripe fruit
IIVR describes Kashi Harit as a short-vine pumpkin best suited to green fruit production, with spherical green fruit of 2.5–3.0 kg at the green stage. That points to an early sale of green pumpkin, not a long-store ripe crop.
Walk your local mandi and see whether green pumpkin sells and at what price compared with ripe orange pumpkin. If green sells, Kashi Harit lets you pick early and clear the land. If only ripe sells, a variety like Pusa Vishwas or Arka Chandan suits you better.
If you want seed, leave two or three of the best fruits on healthy plants to ripen fully, because a green-picked fruit has seed that is not ready.
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 Pumpkin (Kaddu) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambili | Sweet, soft-fleshed curry pumpkin for Kerala | 95–110 days | 200–250 q/ha | Kerala |
| Arka Chandan | Compact bush pumpkin for small plots | 115–120 days | ~330 q/ha | Karnataka, southern plains |
| Arka Suryamukhi | Fruit-fly-tolerant pumpkin for the south | 100–110 days | ~340 q/ha | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh |
| CO 2 | TNAU standard pumpkin for Tamil Nadu | 135 days | 23–25 t/ha | Tamil Nadu |
| Kashi Haritthis page | Early short-vine pumpkin for green-fruit sale | About 65 days of crop duration | 300–350 q/ha | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand |
| Pumpkin F1 Hybrid (private companies, e.g. "Amol") | Early private F1 hybrid, claims not independently verified | 85–90 days | Claimed by the seller; not independently verified | sold pan-India through seed dealers |
| Pusa Vishwas | Heavy-yield golden-fleshed pumpkin, about 120 days, many states | About 120 days | 400–425 q/ha | Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra |
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 Pumpkin (Kaddu) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Pumpkin (Kaddu) 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 Pumpkin (Kaddu) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Pumpkin (Kaddu) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Pumpkin (Kaddu) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Pumpkin (Kaddu) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Pumpkin (Kaddu) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I sell Kashi Harit green or ripe?
IIVR says it is best suited for green fruit production, with 2.5–3.0 kg fruit at the green stage. Ask your mandi buyer which he pays more for before you decide. A green pick will not store like a fully cured ripe fruit.
Which states is it recommended for?
IIVR recommends it for Uttar Pradesh, notified in 2006, and the national checklist lists Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. Outside those states, try a small strip first.
Can I grow it in summer and in kharif?
Yes, IIVR lists it as suitable for both the summer and kharif seasons. A short vine and an early crop make a second sowing possible on the same land if you plan the dates.
How early is early?
The national checklist gives about 65 days of crop duration with 300–350 q/ha, against about 120 days for Pusa Vishwas. Count from sowing, note your own first-picking date and use it next season.
Can I save Kashi Harit seed if I pick green?
It is open-pollinated, so yes, but seed needs a fully ripe fruit. Leave a few of the best fruits on healthy plants to ripen fully, and take seed only from those.
Sourced from: ICAR-IIVR — Pumpkin varieties developed by IIVR, National Checklist of Commercial Varieties of Vegetables (TNAU Agritech hosting) — pumpkin. editorial policy.