Courgettes: The Zucchini Squash

By Agrihortico CPL

Zucchini is a type of summer squash grown as a summer vegetable for its tender, edible spongy fruits. It is the most popular and widely grown summer squash vegetable. Scientific name of zucchini is Cucurbita pepo. It belongs to the gourd family of vegetables, i.e. Cucurbitaceae. Zucchini is also called as courgette.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AGRIHORTICO
• Release date: Mar 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9791220286237

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Zucchini Squash: An Introduction

Zucchini is a type of summer squash grown as a summer vegetable for its tender, edible spongy fruits. It is the most popular and widely grown summer squash vegetable. Scientific name of zucchini is Cucurbita pepo. It belongs to the gourd family of vegetables, i.e. Cucurbitaceae. Zucchini is also called as courgette.

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Figure 1: Zucchini Garden

Origin and Distribution: Though zucchini is believed to be originated in the tropical Americas, it is cultivated throughout the world. Zucchini can be grown throughout the year. Zucchini plants are suitable for greenhouse farming and hydroponics.

Currently, Zucchini is widely grown in North America, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.

Botanical Description: A detailed account of plant characteristics of zucchini is given below:

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Figure 2: Zucchini Plant

Plant Description: Like all other gourd vegetables, zucchini is also a seasonal vegetable. It is an herbaceous annual plant with trailing stems. The plant can be grown with or without an external support. Most of the gardeners train zucchini plants over trellises which makes it easy to care and maintain the plants in the gardens. It is a vigorous growing plant. Plants are propagated by seeds. There will be normally at least 15 leaves in a zucchini plant before it begins flowering.

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Figure 3: Zucchini Flower

Flower Description: Flowers are yellow in color with no fragrance. Both male and female