Tips for growing loofah How to grow loofah

If you want to get a high yield of loofah, you have to work hard on planting. So today I will tell you about the loofah planting techniques:

March

Seeding and seedling raising in the first and middle ten days. You can choose local varieties such as Hangzhou iron loofah and Linhai white loofah, and the seed rate per mu is 200-300 grams.

Tips for growing loofah

April

(1) Planting: Luffa prefers fertile soil rich in humus. Deeply plow and level the soil to make beds. The bed width (including furrows) is 2.6-3.3 meters, with one row per bed, a hole distance of 50 cm, 2 plants per hole, and 1,000 plants per mu. Apply 2,000-2,500 kg of decomposed manure per mu.

(2) Management after transplanting: Water the plants to establish roots during transplanting. Water the plants with diluted human manure water every 1-2 days after planting. After the seedlings are established, water the plants with 10%-15% human manure water every 5-7 days, 250-300 kg per mu. Keep the soil moist at all times.

May

(1) Fertilizer and water management: Apply fertilizer and water frequently. When the vines are growing rapidly, apply fertilizer to accelerate vine growth once, 1500-2000 kg of 50% human manure water per mu. In the early stage of flowering and fruiting, irrigate once every 5-7 days with 20%-30% human manure water or apply 5 kg of quick-acting fertilizer per mu.

(2) Intertillage and soil cultivation: Before setting up the trellis, carry out 2-3 times of intertillage and soil cultivation to transform the flat bed into a ridged bed to promote the occurrence of adventitious roots and drainage.

(3) Build trellises, guide vines, and tie vines: Build trellises in time after the second deep tillage. Generally, varieties with long vines, vigorous growth, and strong branching ability are better to use trellises; early-maturing varieties with short vines and weak growth are better to use "human" trellises or hedges. Before putting the loofah vines on the trellises, pay attention to removing side buds at any time, guide the vines in a "zigzag" shape, and tie the vines at the same time to ensure that the stems and leaves are evenly distributed.

(4) Pruning and trimming: Remove excessive or ineffective side vines, and at the same time remove excess male inflorescences to reduce nutrient consumption.

June

(1) Fertilizer and water management: Harvesting begins in the first ten days of the year. Topdressing must be done once every 1-2 harvests, more often than for other melons. Generally, 15 kg of ammonium sulfate or 8 kg of urea is applied per mu each time. During the fruiting period, topdressing and watering are combined every 5-7 days.

(2) Plant management: Prune the branches, remove ineffective side branches and old, yellow, and diseased leaves. Select fruits with large ovaries and remove deformed and dead fruits with poor pollination, yellow ovaries, and slow growth.

July-August

(1) Harvesting: July to August is the peak harvesting period. Harvesting should be done every 1-2 days. Harvesting should be done in a timely manner, preferably early rather than late, to avoid affecting the edible quality.

(2) Field management: Loofah likes moisture, so it must be watered in time after entering the hot summer drought period. Generally, it is watered once after 1-2 harvests combined with topdressing. Continue to adjust the plants, remove the overcrowded old leaves, yellow leaves, and remove the excessive male flowers.