Causes and countermeasures of loofah rot

Luffa is an annual climbing cucurbitaceae herbaceous plant. Stems and branches rough, furcated, puberulent, branches ribbed, smooth or hirsute on ribs, tendrils. Stems stout, pubescent, usually 2-4 branched. Leaves alternate, long stipe, palmate heart-shaped, 8-30 cm long, slightly wider than long, margin with wavy shallow teeth, smooth on both sides glabrous. Petiole scabrous, 10-12 cm long, with inconspicuous furrows, subglabrous. Leaf blade triangular or suborbicular, ca. 10-20 cm long, ca. 10-20 cm wide, usually palmate 5-7-lobed, lobes triangular, middle longer, 8-12 cm long, apex acute or acuminate, margin serrate, base deeply cordate, curved 2-3 cm deep, 2-2.5 cm wide, dark green above, scabrous, light green below, pubescent, veins palmate, with white pubescence. Summer leaf axils open unisexual flowers.

Luffa monoecious, male flowers for racemes, first open, female flowers solitary, long stalked, corolla pale yellow. The fruit is cylindrical, pendulous, generally 20- 60 cm long, up to 1 m long. Seeds oblate ovoid, ca. 1.5 cm, black. The root system of loofah is strong. Stem tendril sex, pentagonal, green, main tendril and lateral tendril growth are lush, stem node with branched tendrils, easy to grow adventitious roots. Leaves palmate or cordate, velutinous. Monoecious flowers, yellow corolla. Male flowers are racemes, female flowers solitary, ovary hypogynous, after the first female flower occurs, most stems save female flowers.

When loofah is sold, the quality of flowers has become an important quality indicator, but loofah rot is also a problem that occurs more at present.

1. Dry rotten flowers

Symptoms: The edge of the petals appear dry, dry rotten (different from water rotten flowers), the whole petals are not fresh. The illness analyses: This may be the expression symptom that vine withered disease goes up in the flower. It occurs more heavily in weak light, especially after cloudy days.

Countermeasures: Thiophanate methyl or Daseng can be sprayed or applied to protect the power of other chemicals to reduce the occurrence of disease.

II. Water rot

Symptoms: from the edge of the petals began to appear water rotten, serious petals appear dripping symptoms, sometimes there is a smell, sometimes there is no white mold.

Disease analysis: smelly but not long hair may be bacterial soft rot, mildew may be flower rot or cotton blight, both of which occur in high temperature and humidity.

Coping methods: bacterial soft rot leaves can be sprayed streptomycin, neophytin, can also be sprayed copper preparations such as can be killed or crown bacteria and other agents. Flower rot and cotton blight can be sprayed on the leaves with chemicals such as Keluo, Kejia, Anke, Redomil, etc., or some chemicals can be added to the anthers.

III. Rot of style head

Symptoms: Black rotting of flower stigma, accompanied by rotting of flower.

Disease analysis: This may be due to the lack of boron, calcium and other elements in the soil caused by the disease, but also with the root absorption or water supply is not coordinated.

Response methods: foliar fertilizer containing boron, calcium and other elements can be sprayed on leaves, such as Lvfenwei No.3 or No.2, calcium in cover, calcium nitrate, etc., or some calcium fertilizer such as Norway calcium nitrate can be washed. At the same time, attention must be paid to root cultivation to enhance the absorption capacity of roots. Humic acid and microbial fertilizer can be added, or rapid absorption can be washed. Or one of the pesticides such as methyl thiophanate, hymexiline and ethyl phosphorus aluminum manganese zinc can be selected and then root rooting agent can be added to irrigate the roots. About 0.25kg of root irrigation per plant.