Winter squash

Overview

Cucurbita moschata is a squash that was first domesticated in Central America and northern South America. It is an annual monoecious, creeping, vine-like that trails or climbs by tendrils along the ground. It is cultivated worldwide, and in low-land tropical areas of Asia, Africa and the Americas, it is the most widely cultivated Cucurbita species.

Vernacular Names

Pompoen (Dutch), Citrouille (French), Bisam-Kürbis (German), Tatak Labu Malaysia), Kabocha, Kabotcha, Nihon Kabotcha (Japanese), Hipak (Korea).

Agroecology

Pumpkin is a hot season crop that can be adapted to areas with mean monthly temperatures of 18-27° C. Cultivated from the lowlands to 1.500 m elevation in the tropics. It can be grown from the temperate zone to the tropics as long as the growing season is warm for a minimum of 150 days. Low temperatures are the least tolerant of this. It needs a fertile, welldrained soil of retentive moisture and a very wet, sunny and sheltered location.

Morphology

• Stem is creeping, vine-like, trails along the ground or climbs by tendrils.
• Branch is with short and long uniseriate trichomes and slightly angular stems and 3-5 branched tendrils and a wide one.
• Leaves are alternate, long petiolate, simple, have white blotches, shallowly lobate with three to five ovate or triangular lobules.
• Flowers are pentamerous, solitary, axillary, large and bright yellow to orangey-yellow.
• Fruit size and shape differ greatly (usually according to the shape of the ovary): flat or rounded ribs, occasionally verrucose or granuose, with a thickened and durable rind, soft and smooth.
• Seeds are ovate/elliptical, measuring 8 to 21 x 5 to 11 mm and which have a yellowish-white surface.

Cultivation

• Seed - can be sown in situ or in containers. Within 2 weeks, germination should take place. Sow 2 or 3 seeds per pot and thin out to the best plant when starting in containers. Grow them quickly and plant them when they're about 10 cm high.

Chemical Constituents

• Oleic, linoleic, and palmitic acids. Seed oil was also found to be rich in tocopherols with a predominance of δ-tocopherol. Protocatechuic, caffeic, syringic, vanillic, p-coumaric and ferulic.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

• Seeds : Antioxidant, Antihypercholesterolemic, Antiparasitic/Anthelminthic, Anti-prostate, Bladder stone alleviation, Hypotensive, Antiarthritic, Antidepressant
• Stem : Antiobesity
• Fruit : Antidiabetic
• As a vermifuge, seed is used. For the relief of abdominal cramps and distension due to intestinal worms, it is eaten fresh or roasted. Intestinal infection management . To relieve a number of kidney problems.
• Topically, flowers were used to soothe minor wounds.
• Roots : is used as a galactogue.