What are the characteristics of various gourd varieties?

Today I will introduce you to the varieties of gourd. Please take a look.

Line gourd

The plant of the gourd is a climbing plant with green leaves, rounded pentagonal heart-shaped, shallow teeth on the leaf margins that are almost entire, and dense white short hairs on the leaf surface. The vines bear melons, which are slender and stick-shaped, slightly thin in the upper middle part and slightly thick at the light end. The top of the melon is flat and round, and the melon handle at the base of the melon is slightly protruding with longitudinal ridges. The melon is 60 to 70 cm long, with a transverse diameter of 6 to 7 cm in the thicker part and 4 to 4.5 cm in the thinner part. The weight of a single melon is 0.5 to 0.75 kg. The melon skin is green and white, with dense white hairs on the surface. When mature, the skin color is light, the melon skin becomes hard, and the hairs fall off. The melon flesh is white, about 1 cm thick, tender, and has little fiber. It is of good quality and can be eaten cooked. It has strong heat resistance, but is not cold-resistant or waterlogged. It has medium resistance to diseases and insects.

Long gourd

It is also known as long gourd, night flowering, taro, etc. The fruit is oblong cylindrical, 40 to 50 cm long, with light green skin, white and soft flesh, and excellent quality. The fruits are mostly grown on sub-vines or side vines. It is an early maturing variety.

Noodle gourd

Also known as Xianghuzi, it is a local variety in Nanjing. The fruit is 70 to 100 cm long, with similar thickness at the top and bottom, slightly thinner at the stalk, thin peel, light green, shiny, thick and tender flesh, white. It has few seeds, and a single fruit weighs 1.5 to 2.0 kg. It is resistant to aging and matures early.

Big Gourd

It is a local variety in Beijing. The fruit is gourd-shaped, with a spherical lower part and a flat bottom. The upper part gradually tapers to a short columnar shape. Each fruit weighs 1 to 2 kilograms. The skin of the young fruit is white-green or light green, with irregular white spots on the bottom and dense white short hairs on the surface. The upper part of the fruit is solid, and the swollen part has a small and thick flesh.

The melon flesh is white, dense, rich in water, low in fiber, slightly sweet, and of good quality. Young melons are eaten cooked, while old melons can be used in containers. It is heat-resistant, not cold-resistant, not drought-resistant, and likes fertilizer.

Xiaogan Gourd

A local variety from Xiaogan County, Hubei Province. The fruit is oblong, slightly thin at the waist, slightly swollen at the tip, 70 cm long, 7 cm in diameter, with a thin green skin, thick white flesh, few seeds, and good quality. Each fruit weighs about 1 kg, an early-maturing, high-yield variety.

Sanjiangkou gourd

A local variety in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. The first female flower is borne on the 4th to 5th leaf nodes of the soil vine and the 1st to 2nd leaf nodes of the side vine. The fruit is club-shaped, 49 cm long and 7.5 cm in diameter. The outer skin is light green with white hairs. The flesh is tender and slightly sweet. The quality is excellent. A single fruit weighs 750 grams. It is relatively resistant to low temperatures and diseases and insects. The yield per mu is 3500 to 4000 kilograms.