How to cultivate Trichosanthes kirilowii for high yield? Detailed explanation of key planting techniques

Speaking of Trichosanthes kirilowii, perhaps many people are not particularly familiar with it and think it is an edible fruit, but Trichosanthes kirilowii also has certain medicinal effects. Its market share is not particularly widespread because many people do not yet know much about it.  

What is Trichosanthes kirilowii  

Trichosanthes kirilowii, also known as bitter gourd (Yueqing), diaogua (Wenzhou Wencheng), and laoyagua (Wenzhou). Its root (traditional Chinese medicine name: Tianshuafen), fruit (traditional Chinese medicine name: Gualoushi), peel (traditional Chinese medicine name: Gualoupi), and seeds (traditional Chinese medicine name: Gualouren) belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, Trichosanthes genus, a perennial climbing herb that can grow up to 10 m long. The rhizome is thick and cylindrical, with a yellow outer skin. The stem is much branched and hairless; the leaves are alternate, nearly round or heart-shaped, and the species is dioecious; the male flowers are several in a raceme, rarely solitary, with obovate corolla lobes, while the female flowers are solitary with an oval ovary; the fruit is nearly spherical and orange-red when ripe, with the flowering and fruiting period from July to November. So if Trichosanthes kirilowii is to achieve high yield, how should it be cultivated?  

How to cultivate Trichosanthes kirilowii for high yield  

1. Land preparation and fertilization  

Choose a field with high terrain and good drainage, plow and harrow carefully, and apply sufficient base fertilizer together with land preparation: apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure, 20 kg of urea, and 50 kg of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer per mu. Then make raised beds 1.5 m wide. Wait for sowing.  

2. Sowing  

In production, Trichosanthes kirilowii is mostly propagated by seeds and tuberous roots. The sowing period is spring sowing. Before seed propagation, the seeds should first be pregerminated. After the seeds sprout, sow them in holes on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 150×30 cm. Place 5 seeds in each hole. Water to preserve soil moisture so as to promote emergence. This method is mostly used when the purpose is to harvest Tianshuafen.  

3. Tuber propagation  

Select excellent plants that have fruited for 3~5 years, dig out the underground tubers, and cut them into middle sections 5~7 cm long. After the wounds heal, plant the seed sections on the prepared bed surface at a row spacing of 150×30 cm. To facilitate pollination and fruiting of Trichosanthes kirilowii, 10—15 male plants per mu are often allocated at planting. If plastic film mulching is used, it can increase yield.  

4. Field management  

After the Trichosanthes kirilowii seedlings emerge uniformly, pay attention to intertillage and weeding. Water immediately in dry weather; drain promptly in rainy weather. Topdress once around the Beginning of Autumn each year: apply 10 kg of urea and 5 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate per mu. In winter, apply 3000 kg of farmyard manure per mu. To help ventilation and light penetration, appropriately intercrop some tall crops such as corn and sorghum to let the stems and vines climb.  

Comprehensive control measures for diseases and pests  

Disease and pest control: Trichosanthes kirilowii has relatively few diseases, and if they are found, they can be controlled by conventional methods. The main disease and pest is root-knot nematode, and comprehensive control measures can be used:  

1. During land preparation, apply 10 kg of 5% fenamiphos granules or 5 kg of 3% carbofuran per mu evenly into the soil for control.  

2. Soak the Trichosanthes kirilowii seed sections in a 800-fold dilution of 4% isofenphos-methyl for 15 minutes to kill nematodes on the seed sections, then air-dry slightly before planting. Aulacophora beetles can be killed with a 1000-fold dilution of 90% trichlorfon. Aphids can be killed with dimethoate.  

Efficacy and effects of Gualoupi  

1. Effects on the cardiovascular system  

The water decoction of Gualoupi has a certain inhibitory effect on drug-induced arrhythmia. Experiments show that intraperitoneal injection of Gualoupi water decoction in advance can prevent calcium chloride-induced ventricular fibrillation in rats; it can also significantly increase the threshold dose of ouabain-induced ventricular tachycardia in guinea pigs; it can prolong the latency of aconitine-induced arrhythmia in rats, but there is no statistically significant difference; intraperitoneal injection of Gualoupi water decoction into normal anesthetized rats can significantly prolong the P-R, Q-T, and R-R intervals of the electrocardiogram.  

2. Effects on the digestive system  

Trichosanthes kirilowii contains purgative substances and has a purgative effect on the human body. The purgative effect of Gualoupi is relatively weak; the fatty oil contained in Gualouren has a relatively strong purgative effect, while the purgative effect of Gualoushuang is relatively mild.  

The ethanol extract of Gualou has an inhibitory effect on gastric mucosal injury caused by pyloric ligation, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and hydrochloric acid ethanol, and the ethanol extract of Trichosanthes kirilowii has a significant inhibitory effect on acetylcholine-induced contraction of mouse ileum.  

3. Antibacterial effects  

In vitro tests prove that the decoction or infusion of Trichosanthes kirilowii has inhibitory effects on Gram-negative enteric pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, and on Staphylococcus, Diplococcus pneumoniae, alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, and others. In addition, it also has inhibitory effects on skin-pathogenic fungi such as Microsporum audouinii and Nocardia asteroides.  

4. Antitumor effects  

In vitro experiments prove that the decoction of Trichosanthes kirilowii and the extracts of Gualoupi and Gualouren have killing effects on mouse ascites cancer cells. The in vitro anticancer effect of Gualoupi is better than that of Gualouren, and the 60% ethanol extract has the strongest effect. The off-white amorphous powder obtained from the ether extract of Gualoupi also has in vitro anticancer effects, while the seed shell and fatty oil are both ineffective. Animal experiments show that Trichosanthes kirilowii has a certain inhibitory effect on sarcoma, but its effect on ascites cancer is not obvious.  

5. Other effects  

Experiments prove that Trichosanthes kirilowii injection can very significantly inhibit ADP- and arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation and TXA2 synthesis, and the strength of its effect is related to dosage.  

Intraperitoneal injection of Trichosanthes kirilowii injection can also significantly reduce the maximum platelet aggregation rate and maximum platelet aggregation velocity after 1 hour of coronary artery ligation and 23 hours of reperfusion. The active component trichosanic acid of Trichosanthes kirilowii has a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on collagen-, adenosine diphosphate-, and epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation. The inhibition of platelet aggregation by Trichosanthes kirilowii may be related to inhibiting platelet cyclooxygenase activity and reducing TXA2 formation.  

With the continuous improvement of people's living standards and the continuous increase of knowledge, the effects and value of Trichosanthes kirilowii have gradually become known to more people, so the market prospects for planting Trichosanthes kirilowii are still quite good, and its market potential for development is still huge.