STEP BY STEP PRACTICAL GUIDE TO

SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIAL UGU (FLUTED

PUMPKIN) FARMING IN NIGERIA

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY:

AGBABIAKA ABDULQUADRI OLAMILEKAN
SUPERVISED AND ENDORSED BY:
MR PAUL OROWOLE
SENIOR LECTURER AND HOD AGRIC EXTENSION AND MANAGEMENT,
LAGOS STATE POLYTECHNIC, IKORODU CAMPUS.

MR SOLA BUNMI ADENIYI

A RENOWNED FARMER, CEO HIGHILL AGRIBUSINESS CENTER, ABEOKUTA.
ALSO THE PRESIDENT NIGERIA ASSOCIATION OF PLANTAIN AND BANANA
STAKEHOLDERS.

MR TAIWO OLUWADAHUNSOLA
PRESIDENT PATRIOT AGRIBUSINESS NETWORK (PAN)

POWERED BY: justagriculture.blogspot.com

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 INTRODUCTION
Firstly, I want to congratulate you for getting this material; I pray all the
resolutions you make after reading this material become materialized
and your returns will be in manifold after investment. Farming is our
inherent property, it’s a pity to see people, especially the youths,
neglect the resources for an unsure and unstable one. Well, it’s not too
late to make a change; when you are convinced and ready to build a
career in agriculture.
Fluted pumpkin botanically called Telfairia occidentalis and Ugwu in
the Nigerian parlance is one of the edible nutritious vegetables in
existence. This farm produce has the potential to make any serious-
minded individual rich for life. People have made a lot of money from
this vegetable. One advantage it has over all other vegetables is that it
is universally accepted across all cultures and tribe and a very palatable
vegetable. Health wise, it is what the body needs to perform
wonderfully well.
So, these qualities are what made the vegetable superior to others; the
fact that its demand is very high made it a very lucrative business
opportunity. But the problem is that, only few farmers know the basic
and required technical skill to actually successfully plant this vegetable;
starting from planting the seeds in the soil to harvesting and storage
procedures. Most people delve into the business ignorantly, at the end
got their hands burnt.
However, with this material, I assure you of a successful farming
experience with bumper harvest as the processes involved in successful
planting of this vegetable have been concisely simplified with pictures
illustration; also, required managerial skill to enhance smooth
production has been well explained. This material is a step by step
practical guide; starting from the pre-planting activities to post planting
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activities with pictures illustration for easy understanding. It left no
stone unturned in regards to successful farming of fluted pumpkin also
known as Ugwu. This manual was supervised and endorsed by notable
personalities in the field of Agriculture, they are:
 Mr Paul Orowole; a renowned farmer and senior lecturer, HOD
Agric Extension and Management, Lagos state polytechnic.
 Mr Sola Bunmi Adeniyi; a renowned farmer, CEO Highill
Agribusiness Center, Abeokuta. Also the president Nigeria
Association of Plantain and Banana Stakeholders.
 Mr Taiwo Oluwadahunsola; President Patriot Agribusiness
Network (PAN)
After their perusal of this material and the briefing of the concept of
the project, they had no reservation than to give kudos to the brain
behind this guide. It is tailored towards enabling practicing farmers and
potential farmers to have good and cost effective farming experience.
At this juncture, I want to thank you for your trust in my knowledge; I
hope after your reading you will not be disappointed. I am imploring
you to send a feedback message as regards to your opinion about the
material to 08082681730 or neppptune@gmail.com.
I wish you a successful practice of what you will learn from this manual.
Thank you
Agbabiaka Abdul Quadri Olamilekan

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Planting and agronomic requirement
Pre-planting
The success of your Fluted pumpkin farm, (Ugwu) starts exactly from
the procurement of your seed. The size of your seed determines the
plant yield; large and plump seeds have good growth potential, in terms
of number of leaves present in a vine, the branches and uniformity of
seedlings.
When choosing a type of seed, this should be at the back of your mind.
If you are buying the pod; in this case, you are not privileged to see the
seeds but you can determine the nature of the seeds through the
appearance of the mother plant. Mistakes some farmers make is that,
they plant either immediately after evacuating the seeds from the pod
or they evacuate and dry the seeds for so long. These are practically
wrong!

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When the seeds are evacuated, they have high moisture content; if
planted immediately, it can make the seeds to rotten due to the high
moisture content, thus, observing no emergence from the sown spot.
So, drying the seeds is very crucial before planting but the questions are
to:
 What extent or degree of dryness should be implemented?
 What are the things to be done before drying?
Read up…
Before drying your fluted pumpkin seeds, the sheath has to be
thoroughly removed. Its removal aids quick seedling emergence and
reduces the risk of infecting and contaminating the seeds.

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The ideology and concept behind the thorough bathing of a new born
baby have to be implemented here. The sheath has to be completely
removed to leave the seed naked.

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Also, before drying the seeds, there is a term called scarification. It is
the bruising of the seed coat to aid water permeability, that is, the
ability of water to enter the seed. This initiates quick emergence of the
seedling. Fluted pumpkin seed scarification is done by rubbing the seed
with sand, using the two hands. It is called “washing the seeds with
sand” in our normal parlance. After the completion of this, you will
notice a coarse seed surface.

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After this, drying comes in. There are two main types of natural drying;
we have the sun drying and air drying. Sun drying means subjecting the
seeds to high sun intensity, to drastically reduce the moisture content
of the seeds. Sun drying is usually done to preserve seeds for storage
and processing, like maize and soybean. Seeds for planting should not
be sun dried because it reduces the moisture content such that it kills
the seed embryo. Air drying means placing the seeds under a shade for
mild drying. However, if sun drying is to be done, it should not be more
than 3-5 hours.

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In the case of fluted pumpkin seeds; the seeds are air dried for about 2-
3 days before planting; OR the seeds are sun dried 3-5 hours before
planting. It is more or less like conditioning the seeds, getting it ready
for planting.
It is advisable to start fluted pumpkin from the nursery to monitor their
growth and protect it from pest like snail that tends to eat up the new
shoots as they emerge. Aside from that, transplanted seedlings have
good growing habit, as
 Only pest and disease free seeds are transplanted.
 You have the option of choosing robust growing seedlings
 Transplanted seedlings develop more stocky plant with a better
root system that increases yield.
So, for these reasons, endeavor to start your seeds in the nursery and
later transplant to the field after the emergence of the seedlings.
Nursery for fluted pumpkin is very cheap; you can lacerate the top of
sachet water nylon, fill it with a nutrient filled soil like loamy or humus
soil. After filling the nylon, puncture various portion of the sachet
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nylon, ranging from the sides to the bottom to allow water infiltration,
soil air and eliminate water logging situation. The latter can lead to the
seed rupture.

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After filling your nursery nylon, apply water to the soil to excite and
activate the microorganisms to facilitate quick seedlings emergence
and also dissolve the nutrient present on the soil for the seed use. Wet
the soil in the nursery and allow settling for about 24 hours under a
shade.
After about 3-6 hours (for sun-dried seeds) or 2 day (for air dried seeds)
you can plant your seed into the prepared nursery bags. When planting,
the orientation of the seed is very important. Many farmers make this
mistake; if the seeds are not properly placed, there would be no growth
or seedling emergence.

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After air drying, a pointed or sharp edge is observed in the seed.

The pointed portion should or must be the portion to touch the soil, to
enhance growth. Cover the top of the seed slightly and of course apply
water once in a day every day.

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The seedlings start to sprout or emerge after about 7-14 days. Allow
them to stay in the nursery for about 2-3 weeks after emergence,
before transplanting to the field.

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There are two ways of transplanting crops; they are:
 Naked root system: In this system, the lump of soil attached to
the root system of the seedling is carefully and completely
removed, such that, the roots are not damaged.

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 Ball of earth method: In this system, the seedling is transferred

into an already dug hole on the field with the entire mass of soil
attached to the seedling root; the nursery bag is carefully torn
with a razor blade, to detach it away from the seedling. The
seedling is then placed inside the hole and covered with more soil;
it is presses down to remove air pockets.

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Any of these two methods can be adopted to transplant your seedling.
But I recommend the ball of earth method. Transplanting should be
done very early in the morning or late in the evening.
NOTE: If you find the nursery cumbersome, it can be skipped,
especially for a large scale production; you can plant directly on the
field, it is still the same procedure. However, care must be taken to
ensure proper planting of seed and placement.

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 Environmental requirements for planting fluted pumpkin
leaves (Ugwu)
For conventional farming, fluted pumpkin (Ugwu) thrives best in a
warm humid tropics, that is, it grows best during the rainy season but
can be grown commercially under irrigation at any time or any season
under a neutral soil pH.

Land preparation
It is imperative you start your land preparation a week after planting in
the nursery. For fluted pumpkin (Ugwu) to thrive well, they need a well-
drained soil that is rich in organic matter with neutral pH. A land prone
to water logging should be avoided because water logged soil does not
support the growth and development of Ugwu. Proper clearing,
ploughing and stumping should be done to expose pest to desiccation
and unfavorable environment, thus, eradicating pests off the farm. The
soil should be properly tilled to aid water percolation and good root
development. A spacing of 1m by 1m should be used to enhance good
growth and development.

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Post planting management of fluted pumpkin (UGWU) Farm
Management is key in any agribusiness; this is where most farmers run
at loss. No matter how good the plant and the planting medium is, if
the management is poor, the farm would run at loss. Management is
the grooming of the plant till harvesting. A good farmer must be ready
to tackle threats that show up on his or her farm.
There are different threats that will surface as the crops grow; their
main aim is to reduce the farm yield. The first threat you encounter on
Fluted pumpkin farm is weed. Weeds are very detrimental to the
success of any farm; they compete with the sown crop for space,
nutrients, air and virtually all the plant needs to thrive well. Aside from
competing with plants for their basic growth requirements, they harbor
pests such as grasshoppers, and other defoliators; that feed on the
vegetable leaves, thereby reducing the quality of the leaves. Weeds are
very persistent and stubborn; they surface as early as two weeks after
planting.

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Weed control
To control weeds, use a manual method with the use of a hoe; you can
hire laborers. Do not be parsimonious in a farming business, if you
really want to break even. The more you spend plausibly, the better
result you get. The use of chemical herbicides should be discouraged on
fluted pumpkin farm, because the plant has a short gestation period
and people consume the leaves. Harvesting starts as early as 4-5 weeks
after transplanting and 5-6 weeks for direct sowing, applying chemical
herbicide at 2-3 weeks is greatly detrimental to human health when the
leaves are consumed. It is best to avoid its use and opt for manual
weeding. First weeding should be done 3 weeks after planting and an

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interval of 3 weeks should be maintained to keep the farm free from
weeds and pests, thus, increasing the growth rate of the vegetable.
Weeding is usually done once or at most twice before the leaves form
canopy to suppress the growth of the weeds. Mulching can also be
done with dry leaves to suppress weeds and also conserve moisture.
Subsequent weeding takes 21 days cycle especially after harvesting.
Pest control
As your vegetables grow, they tend to have predators like pests. Pests
reduce the economic value of the crop drastically, through defoliation,
which is, eating of the leaves. Pests are great threat to crop production.
Leaf defoliators and some pathogenic infections are peculiar to fluted
pumpkin farm. There are two ways to control these threats; you either
use organic pesticides or inorganic pesticides. The inorganic is common,
examples are: Larafore, Imiforce. However, they are injurious and
expensive. The use of chemical on food crops should be reduced to
enhance their quality. I will take you through (2) ways to make organic
pesticides, they are cheap, effective and safe for use.
1. First one
Items needed are:
 Liquid soap
 Vegetable oil.
 Baking soda
 Water

How to prepare
In one liter of water, mix 4 table spoons of baking soda, then 2 table
spoons of liquid soap and 2 table spoons of oil. Shake all together
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vigorously and spray on your vegetables. This will protect your
vegetables from insect pests and any infection.

2. Using neem tree extract

Neem tree is commonly called Dongoyaro in Nigeria. The extract from

this plant is a strong repellant, it repels pests effectively.
How to prepare
Collect young neem leaves from the tree, rinse properly with water.
Add about 250g of leaves into 5 liters of water and boil to 100oc for 5
minutes. Allow the extract to cool and then drain to separate the liquid
and the leaves. Apply the liquid with water at a ratio of 1:3, and then
apply to the vegetables every two weeks.
OR

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Soak the neem leaves in water for about 2 weeks. After two weeks,
sieve to extract the liquid. Apply the liquid to your crop every 2 weeks.
Apply pesticides, early in the morning or late in the evening for
effectiveness.
Watering or irrigation
Water is one of the essential requirements for plant growth. Most
farmers wait till rainy season before planting, because of the
abundance of rainfall to supply the plant water. However, in a
commercial farming system, irrigation is provided to supply water to
the crops every day. With irrigation, you can plant any time of the year.
Irrigation is necessary during dry season for high yield and fruit size.
Fertilizer application
Application of manure or fertilizer is very important; it increases yield.
However, there are two main types of manure; namely:
 Organic manure
 Inorganic manure or fertilizer
Examples of organic manure are: cow dung, poultry litter, rabbit
droppings etc. They can be used with no limitation; it has no effect
upon consumption of the plant. They are cheap and long acting in the
soil. Also, they help conserve soil moisture and improve soil structure.
However, it has to be applied on or before planting for effectiveness.
Examples of inorganic fertilizer are; NPK, Urea, SSP etc. They are
chemical compound synthesized to serve as fertilizer. They are fast in
action but don’t last longer in the soil. They are usually expensive.
However, the world now clamor for organic nutrition, there is a strong
campaign against the use of chemical compounds on crops.

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If you are planning to use organic manure, poultry manure is the best; it
contains all the required nutrient elements to enhance plant growth,
especially Nitrogen. It is best incorporated to the soil when it is still
fresh and allow to sediment in the soil for about 2 weeks before
planting. Doing this would disallow the loss of nutrients to the air
(Volatilization). Most farmers make the mistake of drying the poultry
manure before applying; poultry manure contains volatile nutrient
elements like Nitrogen. It can be lost through the air during drying. And
for any leafy crops like vegetables, Nitrogen is the primary nutrient
element that stimulates the production of leaves and flowering. To
conserve the nitrogen in the manure, the manure should be
incorporated into the soil fresh for about two weeks before planting. By
this time (2 weeks after the incorporation of manure), mineralization,
which is the release of nutrient from the manure to the soil, would
have started.
In case of inorganic manure or fertilizer; Urea is the best fertilizer, it is a
nitrogen based fertilizer that aids flowering, thus, increasing the yield of
your fluted pumpkin (Ugu) farm. However, for greater effect, NPK and
Urea are mixed in a ratio of 3:1 respectively. Inorganic fertilizers are
hygroscopic in nature, that is, they have the ability to absorb moisture
from any object they come in contact with. Care must be taken when
applying inorganic fertilizers. It can be applied through different means;
ring method and broadcasting are common.
 Ring method is when you apply the fertilizer to the base of the
plant, near the root in a circular way. It can be done when the
plant is around 2 weeks after transplanting or 3 weeks for direct
planting.

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  Broadcasting is the even distribution of the fertilizers on the
crops. It is the best means of application when the vegetables are
fully grown, such that locating their roots becomes difficult.
 Spot placement method is when the fertilizers are placed or
deposited on a particular spot near the root of the plant.
However, if you intend to produce both the leaves and fruits, do not
use Urea as your fertilizer, use other fertilizer like NPK. Urea impedes
fruiting, it stimulates more of flowers. You get large vegetable flowers
and fruits with relatively smaller sizes that are not economical. Urea is
rich on Nitrogen and Nitrogen stimulates flowering. However, other
fertilizers like NPK contain other nutrients elements like, phosphorus
and potassium which facilitate fruiting.
There are some precautions you need to take note before applying
inorganic fertilizer; they are:
 Do not apply under hot sun or noon; it leads to loss of nutrients.
 Ensure you apply water inform of irrigation after applying
fertilizer to wash down fertilizer particles trapped on leaves.
Because inorganic fertilizers are hygroscopic, they can scorch the
leaves, thus, reducing quality.
 Apply fertilizer late in the evening or early in the morning
Inorganic fertilizers are expensive; it leads to increase in the cost of
production.

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Staking
Staking is the use of materials, mostly bamboo to support the growth of
the plant. It simply guides the plant to grow through the stake
provided. Fluted pumpkin (Ugwu) also needs staking at some
conditions. There are so many discrepancies on the use of stake for
fluted pumpkin (ugwu) plant. I will be clearing the air on this issue here.
Staking is commonly practiced during the rainy season to mitigate
disease infections and emergence. These two are common during the
rainy season. Also, it improves the quality of the leaves. But during the
dry season, disease infections and emergence are not rampant; staking
may not be practiced during this period.
Pruning
Pruning is the laceration of the first shoot and branches of fluted
pumpkin (ugwu). This practice stimulates branching and increases plant
growth. First pruning should be done after 4-6 weeks of planting.

Harvesting

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Harvesting is always a joyous period for every farmer. Harvesting of

fluted pumpkin (ugwu) starts about 5 weeks, after transplanting. It
continues every 3 weeks till the next 8 months. Harvesting is done by
pruning just below the lowest part of a fully grown branch with a sharp
knife. Fruits (pods) are harvested at about 10 weeks after fruiting.

Yield
With good management practice, a yield of 2 tons can be achieved per
hectare and 2 tons of fruits too.
Storage
Storage is very important, not all the harvested vegetables are sold
immediately; some portions need to be stored for the next market. Any
means of storage to be used must enhance the freshness of the
vegetables. There are two ways to store fluted pumpkin and the
freshness remains uncontaminated, they are;
1. The unsold vegetables can be bundled with banana leaves or
loosely covered with old jute sacks. Water should be sprinkled on
it intermittently. Watering should be done cautiously and
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 minimally to avoid deterioration or rotting of the leaves. Doing
this preserves the vegetables and enhances its freshness.
2. Through Blanching: When it seems impossible to sell a fresh
vegetable due to excessive supply, the vegetables can be
blanched. It means dipping the vegetables in boiling water briefly.
And later dried. This allows you keep the vegetables for a long
time with good quality.
With all these guides, you can successfully plant and make money from
fluted pumpkin (ugwu) farming. I encourage you to plant organically,
that is, use of organic planting aids like poultry manure and organic
pesticides as described above. It ranks you higher in the group of
farmers and you make more sales because organic farming is the
healthiest type of farming and people now crave for organic food to
improve their health and reduce disease conditions.
This is the end of the tutorial, endeavor to send your views or
feedbacks to justagricultureblog@gmail.com or 08082681730.

N.B: DO NOT REPRODUCE ANY PORTION OF THIS MATERIAL WITHOUT

PERMISSION.
Thanks.
abd. quadri

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