3G Cutting: An Innovative Tool in Cucurbitaceous Crops to Boost the Production and Doubling the Income of Small Farmers in a Per Unit Area
Aniket Kumar Verma *
Department of Vegetable Science, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda, UP, India.
Etalesh Goutam
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India.
Vaishali Gangwar
Department of Crop Physiology, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda, UP, India.
Pranjal Singh
Department of Vegetable Science, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, UP, India.
Jaswant Prajapati
Department of Vegetable Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.
Devraj Singh
Invertis University, Bareilly, UP, India.
A. C. Mishra
Department of Vegetable Science, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda, UP, India.
Vikas Patel
Department of Vegetable Science, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda, UP, India.
Ritesh Singh
Department of Fruit Science, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya, UP, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
3G cutting is one of the most popular and successful inter-culture operations in cucurbitaceous crops like; bottle gourd, cucumber, pumpkin, sponge gourd, bitter gourd, etc. as well as in plants like tomato, eggplant, chilli, and lady’s finger for a small patch of land. Low fruit set is an emerging constraint in cucurbits, and when it does, extremely small-sized fruits develop and degrade the mother plant. This is the main problem that farmers are currently facing. This problem arises due to a rapid decrease in beneficial insects and other pollinators as a result of the haphazard use of foliar fertilizers and chemical pesticides. 3G cutting is a scientific process to get higher production from plants by increasing the number of female flowers in the plant by adopting practices like trimming and pruning of 1st and 2nd generation branches. Generally, 1G and 2G branches have more no. of male flowers than female (approximately in the ratio of 14:1) whereas this ratio is reduced to 1:2 in 3G branches. We are all known that fruits develop from female flowers, while one male flower can pollinate several female flowers. However, this does not imply that there is no need for male flowers. Male flowers are necessary for pollination. Thus, 3G cutting is the finest scientific practice for farmers to maximize the number of female flowers and fruit yield.
Keywords: Cucurbits, 3G cutting, female flower, fruit yield