How to Manage Loofah During the Growing Period? Latest Practical Tips Shared
Loofah is a very popular gourd vegetable with a tender and sweet taste. It is distributed throughout our country and is planted over a very wide area. However, when growing loofah, there are various growth stages, and each growth stage of loofah has different management methods. Still, the management methods are all fairly similar, mainly involving unified management during the growing period. So how should loofah be managed during the growing period? Let's take a look together below!
1. Temperature Management
The main growing period of loofah is in summer, so it likes to grow in a high-temperature environment, and its most suitable growing temperature is around 22°C. The optimum temperature for fruit growth should be controlled at around 25°C. If the temperature is below 16°C, the growth rate will drop noticeably, and below 10°C it stops growing and is highly prone to cold damage. Before the loofah has produced vines, straw can be appropriately spread to control light exposure and promote the growth of the stems and leaves as well as flower bud differentiation. Then, during the fruiting stage, the straw should be appropriately uncovered to increase light duration and temperature, promoting flowering and fruit setting.
⟦NL>2. Reasonable Watering
Loofah has different water requirements at different growth stages. For example, during the seedling stage, its water demand is relatively low. It is mainly watered lightly about twice according to the weather and soil moisture conditions. When the vines grow to about 6 cm, soil should be hilled up appropriately, then potassium dihydrogen phosphate and other nutrients should be applied as a top dressing to supplement the nutrients needed for growth, followed by one heavy watering. Under normal sowing and planting management, loofah begins to flower and bear fruit around June each year. At this time, the temperature is relatively high, so the watering frequency should be well controlled, about once a week.
3. Trellising and Vine Tying
The vines of loofah are very long, so trellising work must be done well when planting. Observe the growth of the vines, and when they grow to about 24 cm, trellises should be set up in time to avoid the trellis poles taking up too much space and to provide appropriate shade. The trellis form is generally mainly a single-row vertical trellis, and then the vines are guided vertically according to the planting density. After they successfully climb onto the trellis, tie the vines in a curved shape at about every 5 leaves, and pay attention to doing a good job of lowering the vines. In addition, loofah has relatively weak disease resistance, so leaves from lowered vines should not be removed. Finally, spray agents such as New High Lipid Film to protect flowers and fruits and increase the rate of flowering and fruit setting.
4. Pest and Disease Control
As just mentioned, loofah has relatively weak disease resistance, so we also need to do a good job of pest and disease control. Common pests and diseases of loofah include anthracnose, viral diseases, aphids, and so on. In the control process, it should be carried out in a planned way, strengthen field management, control the application of water and fertilizer, and prevent fertilizer damage, waterlogging damage, and other problems that trigger pests and diseases. Targeted control should be carried out according to commonly occurring pests and diseases, control the incidence rate of pests and diseases, and minimize their harm. After disease occurs, corresponding agents should be used for control according to the specific disease.
The above is a brief introduction to loofah growing management methods. The management of loofah is very important for its flowering and fruit setting. Management work must be done well to avoid unnecessary losses and harm to your planting benefits. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you all for reading and supporting.