What are the seed-saving techniques and specific operation methods for greenhouse loofah?

Nowadays many growers choose to grow loofah in greenhouses, and when growing greenhouse loofah, if you want the loofah to grow well, seed saving is an important foundation. So what are the seed-saving techniques for greenhouse loofah? How exactly are they carried out?

1. Strictly screen the plants kept for seed

The plants kept for seed must be strictly selected; the specific requirements are uniform leaf size, short petioles, short internodes, uniform fruit-setting nodes, early fruit setting, and no disease.

Management before fruit setting:

Before loofah sets fruit, the main focus should be on cultivating strong plants. When the plant has 5-6 leaves and is about 50 cm tall, carry out the first fertilizer application to promote early plant growth. For summer-crop loofah, note that the time for trellising should be delayed as much as possible; it is best to trellis only when the female flowers open, first letting the loofah creep along the ground, to prevent excessive vegetative growth. After trellising, promptly remove the side branches and flowers that sprout on the main vine, to reduce nutrient consumption and promote vigorous growth of the main vine.

2. Pay attention to the timing of seed saving

Besides selecting the plants kept for seed, you must also pay attention to choosing the timing of seed saving, because it takes about 3 months from the start of seed saving to harvest for loofah, and during this period the loofah basically has no yield, so the timing of seed saving is best chosen in May when the price of loofah is low.

Many vegetable growers generally begin keeping fruit when the main vine has 15 leaves. Whether to keep fruit early or late should be determined by the season. For spring-crop and autumn-crop loofah, keeping fruit when the main vine has 15 leaves is somewhat early, because at that time the outside temperature is relatively low, which easily causes an imbalance in nutrient distribution, and the stems and vines will grow slowly because they cannot obtain sufficient nutrients. When the temperature is low, the first crop of loofah can be delayed until there are 22-24 leaves before keeping fruit. In summer, when the temperature is relatively high, summer-crop loofah should keep the first crop of fruit before 20 leaves as much as possible.

3. Detoxify first, then save seed

During the growing process, loofah must always be flower-dipped, and because the hormones used for flower dipping are transported up and down along with the nutrients and have adverse effects on seed development, the loofah must first be detoxified. The specific measure is to let the plant grow freely for a period before keeping fruit; during this period, the young fruits and tendrils at each node can be pinched off, and after it grows 10-12 new leaves, begin topping, lowering the vines, and keeping seed fruit.

4. Management after seed saving

When saving seed from loofah, there is no need to apply additional fertilizer, because the nutrients in the soil are enough for the growth needs of the seed loofah. In terms of water management, note that there should not be uneven drought and waterlogging; water as soon as the soil looks dry, and other aspects can follow routine management. It is best to wait until the plant naturally withers and dies before collecting seed. During the seed-saving process, also pay attention to controlling root-knot nematode disease; irrigate with avermectin solution 1-2 times as a preventive measure.