What are the techniques for growing loofah?

Here are some tips on growing loofah:

1. Choose good varieties.

Choose a series of varieties with good main vine fruit-bearing ability, low fruit-setting nodes, high fruit-setting rate, strong disease resistance and high temperature resistance.

2. Sowing and raising seedlings.

Due to the low temperature in early spring, the germination rate of loofah is low, and it must be germinated before sowing. Before sowing loofah, treat the seeds with 55-60℃ water for 15 minutes, then soak them in 25℃ water for 4 hours, rinse to remove the mucus on the surface of the seed coat, wrap the seeds with wet gauze and put them in a warm box for germination. Select seeds with good germination and sow 1-2 seeds per pot, and generally use about 500 grams of seeds per mu. Keep the temperature at 28-33℃ before germination, ventilate and cool down in time after germination to avoid causing the seedlings to grow too long, and the temperature should be kept at 23-25℃. The key is that the loofah seedlings must be transplanted before the first true leaf appears, otherwise it will affect the survival rate. In summer, the temperature is high and the germination is fast, so direct sowing is generally sufficient. Soak the seeds for 3-4 hours before sowing or germinate them for 24 hours after soaking before sowing. Single row double plants, hole spacing 30-40 cm, 3-4 seeds per hole, cover with 1.5 cm of soil, cover with gauze, and water. After germination, leave 2 seedlings in each hole.

3. Planting at the right time

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Seedlings emerge 4-5 days after sowing. When the seedlings have 4 leaves and 1 heart, choose a sunny day in mid-April for field planting. Before field planting, apply sufficient basal fertilizer, generally 5,000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure, 80 to 120 kg of superphosphate, and 25 to 30 kg of urea per mu, then deep plow 20 cm, harrow and build ridges, and plant about 2,800 seedlings per mu.

4. Land preparation and sowing

Summer loofah has no special requirements for land, as long as the previous crop is not melon, it can be planted. Due to the heavy rain in summer, the land preparation for loofah planting in the open field should be deep furrows and high ridges; the ridge furrow width is 1.6 meters and the ridge surface width is 1.2 meters. Double rows are planted in a "品" shape, with 2 seedlings per hole, 75 cm between holes, and a density of 2300-2500 seedlings per 667 square meters. Apply 0.5 kg of farmyard manure and a small amount of compound fertilizer at the time of planting.

5. Field management.

After planting, cover with a small shed, and ventilate as little as possible to increase the temperature in the shed and promote seedling acclimatization. After seedling acclimatization, generally spray 120ppm of ethephon or 2000ppm of pyrochlore to prevent seedling leggy growth and promote more female flowers. At the same time, water thoroughly once, and then turn to squat seedling. When the seedling is 30 cm tall, set up a support, and use a zigzag shape to tie the vines up. The main vine is the main vine, and the side vines are all removed. When the melon vines grow at the same time, water and fertilizer should be emphasized. In principle, water once every 2 to 3 days and fertilizer once every 5 to 6 days. For topdressing, use 500 kg of human feces and urine or 20 to 25 kg of ammonium nitrate per mu each time.

Fertilizer and water management: The growth period of the high-quality loofah is short, and the fruit will be formed 30 to 40 days after planting. Sprinkle the summer loofah with manure water 2 to 3 times during the seedling stage, and apply heavy topdressing during the initial flowering period. Apply 50 kg of compound fertilizer or 50 kg of peanut bran per mu. Apply topdressing once every 2 to 3 harvests, and use 15 kg of compound fertilizer, 10 kg of urea, and 5 kg of potassium fertilizer each time. The summer loofah seedling stage should not have too much water, as too much is not conducive to the growth of the root system. The vines need more water during the flowering period, and water should be sprinkled in the morning and evening on sunny days. In addition to watering during the harvest period, a 10 to 20 cm water layer should be retained in the ditch, and drainage should be carried out in time on rainy days.

Arrange the vines, remove the flowers and leaves, and insert bamboo to guide the vines. When the vines are 30 cm long, you can insert bamboo and insert the frame. After inserting the frame, do not guide the vines immediately. You should properly nest and press the vines. When female flowers appear, you can guide the vines upward and make the vines evenly distributed. The main vine can produce 2 to 3 loofahs. Hang the melons. When the loofahs are bent, you need to hang the melons. Use a small packaging rope to tie the melon stems at one end and a small stone at the other end to straighten the melons. Generally, this should be done 2 to 3 days after picking the melons. Remove the old leaves. In the late harvest of summer loofahs, the diseased and old leaves below affect ventilation and are easy to spread diseases. They should be removed in time.

6. Disease and Pest Control

The main disease of loofah is downy mildew, which can be controlled by spraying 70% mancozeb 500 times or 72% Ridomil 600 times. The medicine must be used when downy mildew first occurs. The main insect pests are whiteflies, cabbage worms, and Spodoptera litura. They can be controlled by spraying 800 times dichlorvos, 800 times dimethoate, and 500 times dichlorvos. The spraying time is generally chosen in the evening.

7. Harvest in Time

Harvest must be timely, otherwise after rain, the internal humidity of the melon strips is high and the seeds are easy to germinate. Harvest in time 10 to 14 days after flowering, when the fruit is fully grown and relatively tender. Picking should be done in the morning, cut from the fruit stalk with scissors, and then put on the market after packaging and sorting.