How to plant loofah and control its pests and diseases

How to plant loofah? I believe there are still many friends who don’t know this knowledge, let’s take a look at it below.

Loofah

(I) Varieties:

There are many varieties of loofah, such as Nanjing long loofah, Shanghai fragrant loofah, Wuhan white jade frost, Zhejiang green handle white belly, Yunnan horsetail loofah, and our Changsha area flesh loofah, white loofah, etc., which belong to the common loofah category. Another category is ridged loofah, represented by the green skin loofah and black ear loofah grown in the suburbs of Guangzhou, Guangdong. The following focuses on the flesh loofah and white loofah.

1. Inner loofah: The main variety grown in Changsha, it likes fertilizer, is heat-resistant, waterlogged, and drought-resistant, has a wide adaptability, has many branches, and mainly produces melons on the main vine. The melons are cylindrical, short and thick, with tender flesh and strong commercial value. The weight of a single melon is 0.5-0.6 cubic meters, and the yield is high, with an output of about 5,000 kilograms per mu.

2. White loofah: The main variety grown in towns and villages in Changsha. It likes fertilizer, is heat-resistant and waterlogged, and is suitable for cultivation in sandy loam or clay loam near water sources. The plant has strong branches, and the main and side vines bear fruits. The fruit is long and thick, yellow-white and not old. The ripe fruit is soft, tender, sweet and delicious. The weight of a single fruit is 1-1.5 kg, and the yield per mu is about 4,000 kg.

How to grow loofah

1. Seeding and seedling raising:

(1) Sowing period: from the beginning of March in the Gregorian calendar, after the Waking of Insects, to the end of March, before the Spring Equinox.

(2) Seeding amount: 200-250 grams of seeds are required per acre of field.

(3) Preparation of the seedling bed: Sponge gourd is generally cultivated in the field by seedling transplanting. Before sowing, choose a piece of fertile vegetable soil that is sheltered from the wind, sunny, well-watered, and has not been used as a melon crop as the seedling bed. Dig up the soil and smooth it out for later use.

(4) Seeding and seedling raising: Soak the seeds in warm water at 50℃ (open and cool) for 3 hours, remove them and slightly dry the surface moisture before sowing. Sow less than 250 grams of seeds per 10 square meters of seedbed, and then cover with a layer of fermented and sieved coal ash soil or soil fertilizer. Use a spray bottle to wet the surface, then insert a small arch shed, cover with agricultural film to keep warm and prevent frost. When the first true leaf appears on the seedlings, thin out the seedlings once, remove the old, weak, and diseased seedlings, and apply about 10% of fermented human feces and urine to promote seedling growth.

2. Field cultivation:

(1) Soil preparation and planting: Choose a fertile soil near a water source, moist soil, and soil that was not used for melons and vegetables. Dig it up first, and then prepare the soil after proper drying. Generally, the soil is prepared into a wide ridge of 2.6 meters and a furrow depth of 33 centimeters. Then dig out the planting holes, with 2 rows per ridge, 1.67 meters between rows, 1-1.3 meters between plants, and 350 holes per mu. Apply a scoop of 50% decomposed human feces and urine (about 1,000 grams) to each hole, hoe it after it dries, add sifted old coal ash soil or soil fertilizer, and then plant.

Planting time: from early April after Qingming Festival to late April.

Number of plants to be planted: 3 seedlings per hole, usually planted in a "品" shape.

(2) Water and fertilizer management: After planting, timely pour "pressure water" to promote survival. After 5-7 days, when the loofah seedlings have survived, the first topdressing is carried out, using about 15% concentration of human feces and urine, and applying about 750 kg per mu. After that, pour 15-20% light manure water every 4-5 days to promote the growth of the seedlings. At the same time, because loofahs require a large amount of fertilizer, frequent topdressing can easily attract earthworms to drill loose soil, making it difficult for loofahs to take root. Changsha vegetable farmers have a prevention and control method of using yellow mud to cover the soil around the loofah vines, that is, use yellow mud to cover the soil around the loofah vines to prevent the soil from being too loose. Pay attention to the 5 cm square area around the roots of the loofah to avoid mud, so as to facilitate fertilization. In the middle stage of loofah growth, the amount of fertilizer required gradually increases, especially during the picking period, and water and fertilizer must be supplied continuously. Generally, 30-40% concentration of manure water is used every 7 days to pour all over the ridge. During drought, water must be released for irrigation, and the water should be drained when the water reaches the surface of the bed. 2-3 days after irrigation, more than 1,000 kg of 40% human and animal manure water should be applied per mu to promote the growth of vines and leaves and the growth of melons.

(3) Build a shed and trim the vines: Sponge gourds like ventilation and light, so Changsha vegetable farmers usually build flat or slanted sheds for loofah production. When the loofah vines are more than 30 cm long, build a shed in time. First, insert a thicker tail bamboo next to each seedling hole as a support, and then tie a bamboo pole parallel to the bed surface at a height of 2.3 meters from the ground. Then, place a shed strip horizontally on the tail bamboo of each hole to form a rectangular three-dimensional space structure. Finally, place a small bamboo pole every 30 cm, and tie all the intersections tightly with plastic ropes to form a melon shed. The schematic diagram is as follows:

After the melon shed is built, the vines are guided to the shed. There are two methods: one is the vine-matching method, which guides the vines of two rows in one row to stretch relatively, and the other is the vine-chasing method, which wraps all the vines around the bamboo tail in a counterclockwise direction, one up and one down, and ties a straw rope every 15 cm, with appropriate tightness. At the same time, wipe off the tendrils and side vines, and guide them to the shed. The vines on the shed are separated in the same direction, not entangled with each other, and the vines are 15 cm apart. After that, the vines are arranged every few days, and the tendrils, side vines and male flowers, as well as the poorly growing "telephone" young melons and cracked small melons are removed at any time to help concentrate nutrients and promote the hypertrophy of the melon strips.

(4) Disease and pest control: Powdery mildew is a disease of loofah, but it is generally not harmful. In severe cases, 600 times diluted solution of 50% mancozeb can be used for spraying. Its main pests are cutworms and melon worms. Cutworms bite off seedlings, resulting in seedling shortages. Therefore, when controlling them, a certain amount of seedlings should be prepared to prevent seedling shortages. The main control method is manual capture, that is, digging deep at the broken seedlings every morning, digging out the cutworm larvae and stepping on them to death. To control melon worms, 600-800 times diluted solution of pesticides such as kung fu and methyl isothiophos can be sprayed on the vine leaves for control.