
Courgettes
Resource by Plusfarm
Zucchini and other summer squashes, from which the immature fruit is used as a fresh vegetable, develop very rapidly. The first marketable fruits can be harvested 50 to 60 days after planting or 3 to 6 days after the appearance of the female flower. During the harvest season, the fruits are harvested two to three times per week.
Crop yields for summer squash (immature fruits) are 7 to 12 t/ha. Unless grown for seed, mature fruits are not marketable, so plants are removed when yields become too low. Indicative figures for seed yield of zucchini and other squashes are 400 to 1500 kg/ha. In seed production, isolation between fields of different Cucurbita species is recommended, not only for the reason of purity but also for obtaining maximum yields (pollen of other species may cause reduced fruit set).
Varieties
Cultivation
Pests and Diseases / Commonly Used Agrochemicals
Disease and Symptoms |
Active Ingredient |
Commonly used
Agrochemicals |
Leaf Blotch Infection is
characterized by purplish to brown blotches and in later stages by large necrotic spots. These spots often occur at the end of a leaflet and are wedge-shaped. This fungus can also attack the fruit stalk, cap, and fruit. |
Carbendazim 500g/l mancozeb 80% Metalaxyl
8% WP + Mancozeb 64% |
PEARL Extra®500SC Oshothane® 80WP Matco® 72WP |
Leaf Spot Begin
as round purple spots on upper leaf surfaces. Center of the spot becomes tan
or gray, then almost white with a purple border. Can attack immature petioles,
fruit stalks, runners, and caps of susceptible cultivars. |
Copper
oxychloride 50% Difenoconazole
(250G/L) |
CUPRAVIT
50 WP DOMAIN
25% EC |
Gray mold
(Botrytis) Major fruit rot disease
of strawberries. Infection usually starts early in the season as blossom
blight, blighting of the buds and blooms and rotting of the green or ripe
berries. It progresses downwards infecting the berries, stems, and leaves. |
Chlorothalonil (720G/L) Thymol (6.4%) Geraniol (6.4%) Eugenol (3.2%) |
KATERINA 720 SC HAWK 16 CS |
Downy Mildew Pale
green to yellow spots form on the upper surface of leaves, and later turn
brown. Leaf spots are angularly bounded by leaf veins. Dark purplish-grey
fuzz forms on the underside of the leaf |
Mancozeb
(700G/KG) Cymoxanil
(60G/KG) Fosetyl-aluminium
(800G/KG) Mancozeb
640G/KG metalaxyl-M
40G/KG Fosetyl-aluminium
80% |
GLOBE
76 WP FOSET
800WP AMIDIL
68 WG CHANCETYL
ELITE 80 WDG |
Powdery Mildew Appear as pale yellow
leaf spots. White powdery spots can form on both upper and lower leaf
surfaces, and quickly expand into large blotches. |
azoxystrobin(250g/l) Carbendazim(275g/l) flusilazole(125g/l) |
BEYOND 25 SC DISCOVERY 400 SC |
Damping
off Seedlings
start falling over. In slightly older plants, the leaves lose their turgor or
the leaf tips turn yellow, |
Fosetyl
aluminium 800g/kg |
ALIAL
80 WP |
Gummosis The canker gradually
grows darker, and the tissue collapses farther into a pronounced cavity,
lined with a dark green, velvety layer of fruiting fungus. the appearance of
a slightly water-soaked, paler-green area |
Mancozeb (64%) Cymoxanil (8%) Mancozeb (800G/KG) |
MISTRESS 72 WP MILTHANE SUPER |
Leathery
Rot Occurs
on either green or ripe fruits. The rotted area is light brown in the center and shades into purple at the edge. In the late stages of decay, the fruit becomes tough and leathery. |
Metalaxyl / Mefenoxam |
Ridomil
Gold EC |
Anthracnose fruit rot Soft to firm brown to black spots on green fruits and dark purple spots on ripe fruits. The spots enlarge rapidly on the ripe fruits until the fruits rot. The surface of the lesion can become covered with pink to orange masses of spores. |
Propineb (70%) Cymoxanil (6%) Mancozeb (700G/KG) |
MILRAZ WP 76 ZETANIL 76 WP |
Pests and Symptoms |
Active Ingredient |
Commonly used
Agrochemicals |
Cucumber Beetle Adults feed on leaves and can stunt plant growth. Look for holes and yellowing and wilting leaves. |
Lambda-Cyhalothrin
(50G/L) Thiamethoxam (250G/KG) Azadirachtine (.03%) |
DUDUTHRIN SUPER FINAL FLIGHT NIMBECIDINE |
Vine
borer When
you look at a wilting plant closely, you might notice holes near the base of
the plant. The first symptom of a borer attack is wilting of affected plants |
Lambda-Cyhalothrin
(50G/L) |
DUDUTHRIN
SUPER |
Whitefly Exudation of sticky
honeydew. It's feeding on squash frequently causes crop leaves to turn whitish
or silver, hence the name Silverleaf whitefly. |
Thiamethoxam (250G/KG) Acetamiprid (200G/KG) Azadirachtine (.03%) |
FINAL FLIGHT 25 WG MANIK 20 SP NIMBECIDINE TATA UMEME |
Aphids The
infected plants have deformed leaves and a mottled appearance. |
Pyrethrins
(4%) Acetamiprid
(200G/KG) Azadirachtine
(.03%) Cypermethrin|Alphamethrin
(10G/L) Lambda-Cyhalothrin
(25G/L) Lambda-Cyhalothrin
(50G/L) Thiamethoxam
(250G/KG) |
FLOWER
DS EC MANIK
20 SP NIMBECIDINE TATA
ALPHA 10 EC TATA
UMEME DUDUTHRIN
SUPER FINAL
FLIGHT |
Thrips Silver-grey patches on
leaves and the black dots of their excreta indicate their presence in the
crop. The vigor of the plant is reduced by the loss of chlorophyll. |
Pyrethrins (4%) Azadirachtine (.03%) Cypermethrin|Alphamethrin
(10G/L) Lambda-Cyhalothrin
(25G/L) Abamectin|Avermectin B1
(18 g / l) Chlorantranilipole (45 g
/ l) |
FLOWER DS EC NIMBECIDINE TATA ALPHA 10 EC TATA UMEME VOLIAM TARGO 063 SC |
Leaf
miner blotch-shaped
mines in the leaves. |
Azadirachtine
(.03%) Abamectin|Avermectin
B1 (18 g / l) Chlorantranilipole
(45 g / l) |
NIMBECIDINE VOLIAM
TARGO 063 SC |
Squash Vine Borer Leaves of the plant will
likely start to wilt inexplicably. Look for holes at the base of the plant. |
Cypermethrin|Alphamethrin
(10G/L) |
TATA ALPHA 10 EC |
Jassid Sucks
sap from the underside of leaves and leaf buds. When jassids are abundant,
cotton growth is stunted, the leaves turn downwards and heavy fruit loss may
occur on pre-flowering plants. Leaves turn pale and a rust-red colour
develops at the edges. During a severe attack, leaf shedding occurs. |
Lambda-Cyhalothrin
(25G/L) |
TATA
UMEME 2.5 EC |
Squash beetles Feeding on leaves
produces small white dots, or stipples, and leaves will eventually
appear tattered. Large numbers of squash
bugs will cause leaves to yellow and die |
Acetamiprid (200G/L) |
TWIGA ACE 20% SL |
Spider
mites This
injury produces tiny white or yellow spots or "stippling" on leaves
and needles. The
plant looks bronzed and has a yellowed discoloration. Webbing
indicates a spider mite infestation. |
Abamectin|Avermectin
B1 (18 g / l) Chlorantranilipole
(45 g / l) |
VOLIAM
TARGO 063 SC |
PLUSFARM
KENYA Feeding Africa Sustainably |
Post Harvest
Courgettes develop very rapidly and unless grown for seed, the mature fruits are not marketable.
Harvesting starts 2 to 2 and a half months when the fruits are 10-20cm long and continues for 2-3 months. It is done by cutting the fruits off the stem, leaving a short peduncle on the fruit, rather than pulling fruits off to avoid damaging the plant. Regular picking (about three times a week, or on a daily basis depending on productivity) should be done to encourage the production of new fruits. Courgettes are best eaten fresh or can be stored for a few days in the fridge.