ABSTRACT
Kachri, commonly known as wild melon, small gourd, senat seed, wild musk melon, kachariya, shinde, chibdin, or gurmi, is most probably a wild variety of melon. Rural people grow kachri with other rain-fed crops such as sorghum, maize and pearl millet for their food security. Fine brown powder of dried kachri is the best natural meat tenderizer. Dried kachri powder, when used in curries, adds a tangy taste. Regular use of kachri powder may help to cure minor skin diseases like boils, bed sores, lice, manifestation, prickly heat, itching, earache, and so on. Although kachri can be cultivated on all types of soil from light sandy to heavy clay but prefers a well-drained humus-rich soil, which is sandy, light and friable with good water holding capacity. The insect-pests attacking the kachri crop are similar to other melon crops are: red pumpkin beetles, and fruit fly.
