How to grow loofah

Towel gourd originated in the tropics, so it has the characteristics of heat tolerance but not cold tolerance. The temperature suitable for growth and development is 18-33 ℃. In this range, the higher the temperature, the faster the growth. The winter warm greenhouse creates better conditions for it, but the growth and yield are affected by the low temperature in winter. The temperature in the deep winter greenhouse is often lower than 18 ℃, and even lower in severe cold. Towel gourd will suffer from cold injury, weak growth and low yield. The low temperature that towel gourd can withstand is 10 ℃, so towel gourd should not be planted in greenhouses with poor thermal insulation performance or places where the regional temperature is lower than this low temperature value.

The most suitable temperature for vegetative growth of towel gourd is 18-28 ℃, so efforts should be made to maintain this temperature range before putting it on the shelf after planting. When growing in greenhouse, it should be noted that the lowest temperature control at night is higher than that of cucumber, eggplant and pepper, which can be 4-6 ℃ higher. Towel gourd flowering and fruiting period requires a higher temperature, 25-33 ℃. It is worth noting that if the temperature is higher, the branches will grow abnormally and be disadvantageous to flowering and setting melons, which will often increase the number of big-bellied melons and curved melons. Properly widening the temperature difference between day and night, that is, lowering the temperature at night appropriately, is beneficial to more melons and higher yield, because the lower night temperature leads to more accumulation of photosynthetic nutrients, less respiratory consumption and relatively higher accumulation. therefore, many vegetable farmers have the experience of "cool autumn wind and high yield of towel gourd".

Cultivation techniques of towel gourd

By seed propagation, direct seeding or seedling transplanting. Direct seeding method: from March to April, the land is prepared for bed, about 3m wide. The seeds were soaked and germinated, and 2 rows were sown on both sides of the border. Plant distance 35cm, hole opening, each hole sowing 3 seeds, 1hm2 needs about 300-450g seeds. Seedling transplanting method: from February to March, when the melon seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, they can be transplanted in a nutrition bowl on the heat preservation seedbed. Planting density is the same as live broadcast. Variety selection

Select varieties with high quality, high yield, good commodity quality and suitable for the market. Winter and spring cultivation should choose long stick-shaped varieties, the market is for Hong Kong, Macao and South China varieties, such as green, Shuangqing, Lvwang, etc.; summer and autumn cultivation should choose short stick-shaped varieties for the island market, such as Thailand towel gourd, etc. The production land of towel gourd should choose sandy soil with deep soil layer, fertile soil, convenient drainage and irrigation, neutral and slightly acidic PH value.

During the period of planting towel gourd, it is necessary to apply fertilizer once a week, and when towel gourd is ripe, it is necessary to apply fertilizer once or twice. Because towel gourd is mainly used for food and medicine, it is generally better to apply organic natural fertilizer, such as human and animal manure. In addition, weeding and ridging should be carried out frequently when planting towel gourd.

How to grow towel gourd with high yield

Shuxiong towel gourd is a cross-pollinated crop.

The female flower has one flower and one fruit, about 15 days from budding to fruit harvest. Male flowers are infinitely growing racemes, each inflorescence can open 20-35 flowers, the total number of male inflorescences per plant is more than the number of female inflorescences, and the pollination ability greatly exceeds the requirement of female flowers. Because the florescence of male inflorescence is longer, about 30-40 days, which is 3-4 times longer than that of female flower, a lot of nutrients are consumed during this period. Therefore, removing the excess male inflorescence as soon as possible can save nutrients and supply the need for female flowers to bear fruit.

The method of male thinning: starting from the budding of female flowers, 80% of the male inflorescences on each litter of towel gourd plants are removed and 20% pollinated.

Remove the beard

Tendrils play the role of climbing and encircling branches in trailing crops. Towel gourd tendrils take a long time from occurrence to death and consume more nutrients, which is not conducive to more melons and good melons. Removing tendrils and using artificial binding instead of climbing function are beneficial to the progress of plant photosynthesis, the manufacture and accumulation of nutrients, the control of diseases and insect pests, and make towel gourd good pollination and high yield. The method of removing beard: in the early stage of towel gourd plant growth, the method of removing beard and binding is adopted to draw the vine to the scaffolding; after the branches are evenly distributed and fixed on the scaffold, the tendrils can be removed at any time with the whole vine.