Planting technique and harvesting of Trichosanthes kirilowii

Aliases: medicinal melon, Tiangua, du Gua, Tianyuanzi, etc.

Summary: the whole plant of melon basket can be used as medicine, and its fruit Chinese herbal medicine is named Quan melon basket, fruit shell Chinese medicine melon basket peel, seed Chinese medicine melon basket kernel, root Chinese herbal medicine Tianshen, all of which are commonly used Chinese herbal medicines. There is a great demand in the market for medicinal materials. It is mainly produced in Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, Jiangsu and other provinces, and is cultivated in most parts of our country.

Form: melon basket is a perennial herbaceous vine with a maximum length of 10 meters. Tuberous roots stout, fleshy, long cylindrical, stems much branched. Bottle gourd, broadly ellipsoid or subglobose. Seeds numerous, flattened, dark brown. The flowering period is from July to August and the fruiting period is from September to October.

1. Land selection and preparation: melon basket likes warm and humid climate and is more resistant to cold. The requirements of the soil are not strict, but the melon basket is a deep-rooted crop, which can reach 1-1.5 meters deep in the soil, so it is better to choose sandy loam with deep soil layer, loose and fertile soil and good drainage. Low-lying land is not suitable for planting.

In the selected plot, the planting hole of 30 × 30 cm was dug according to the distance of 1 m × 1 m, and about 0.1-0.2 kg compound fertilizer was applied to each hole, and the base fertilizer was evenly mixed with soil.

2. Planting: start planting in mid-late April when the temperature is stable above 18 degrees. The method is to cut the mother root of melon basket into 7-8 cm segments, plant according to the row spacing of 1 m × 1 m, hole depth of 6-8 cm, put in the truncated root segment / cover soil, and pour enough water.

3. Field management:

Seedling management: when the melon basket seedlings grow to about 20 cm, it is necessary to promote seedlings, strengthen watering, topdressing. The key point is to apply nitrogen fertilizer and increase nutrients. 30 grams of urea were applied to each plant. The method is 20-25 cm away from the melon basket seedlings, open 5-8 cm circular ditch, spread fertilizer in the ditch or hole application, and then fill and compaction, the effect is the best. It should be watered according to business conditions.

Remove the tillers and fix the seedlings: when the seedlings grow to 20-25 cm, the weaker seedlings should be removed in time, and 2 buds should be retained for each plant.

Intertillage weeding: weeding should be carried out in the seedling stage to keep the soil loose so as to avoid weeds competing with melon basket seedlings for nutrition.

4. Florescence management:

Fertilization: after the melon basket enters the flowering stage, emphasis should be placed on the supplement of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, and it is better to apply three-material compound fertilizer at acupoints. The circular ditch fertilization method is also adopted, 30-50 grams per plant.

Hit the tip: when the stem vine of the melon basket grows to about 1.5 meters in the flowering period, the top of the stem vine should be removed in time to fully improve the fruit setting rate.

Watering: generally watering according to the commercial conditions of the soil.

Artificial pollination: in order to improve the fruit setting rate, artificial pollination can be adopted. At 8-9 o'clock in the morning when there is no wind, use a brush to dip in the pollen of male flowers and apply them one by one on the style of female flowers. Increase the rate of fruit setting.

Fruit period management: the focus of fruit period management is to prevent fruit falling and rotten fruit.

Prevent fruit drop: the lack of nutrients in the later period of the melon basket is easy to form fruit drop, so it is necessary to topdressing in time during this period. It is necessary to increase phosphorus, potassium and control nitrogen. It is appropriate to apply appropriate amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer at acupoints. If the stem is too dense and too thin, it will not only affect ventilation and light transmission, but also poor fruit setting ability. The management method is to remove the overdense fine branches and axillary buds in time and remove all the tips of the stem vines.

Prevent stagnant water: the fruit period of melon basket is in the rainy season, so we should pay attention to eliminate stagnant water in the field and avoid retting and soaking fruit.

5. Harvest

Melon baskets generally mature before and after Frosts Descent. It can be harvested when the pericarp of the basket begins to turn yellow and frost. As the ripening time of melon basket is different, the harvest method of stages and batches should be adopted.