How to Grow Bottle Gourd for High Yield? Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Bottle gourd, also known as hu zi, bian pu, calabash, night-blooming gourd, wu hu, etc., is an annual climbing herbaceous plant of the genus Lagenaria in the Cucurbitaceae family. In ancient times, its mature dried fruit shell was used as a container and also for medicinal purposes. It is cultivated throughout northern and southern China, commonly in the south, and in recent years northern regions have also begun introducing and cultivating it. Let us take a look together at the high-yield cultivation techniques for bottle gourd!

The Growing Environment of Bottle Gourd

Bottle gourd is a warmth-loving plant, with an optimum growing temperature of 20-25°C. It is not tolerant of waterlogging or drought, so attention should be paid to drainage in rainy areas, and timely irrigation during drought. It likes warmth and is slightly tolerant of low temperatures. Seeds begin to germinate at 15°C, with the fastest germination at 30-35°C. The optimum temperature for growth and fruiting is 20-25°C. Long bottle gourd is not tolerant of high temperatures. It has high requirements for light conditions; under sufficient sunlight, there are fewer diseases, growth and fruiting are good, and yields are high. It has strict requirements for water, being neither tolerant of drought nor waterlogging. During the fruiting period, it requires relatively high air humidity. It is not tolerant of poor soil, and soil rich in humus with strong water and fertilizer retention capacity is suitable. The nutrients required are mainly nitrogen, combined with appropriate amounts of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, to improve yield and quality.

Cultivated Varieties of Bottle Gourd

1. Xian hu zi: The flesh of xian hu zi is white, about 1 cm thick, tender in texture, with few fibers, good quality, and suitable for cooking. It has relatively strong heat tolerance, is not tolerant of cold or waterlogging. Its resistance to pests and diseases is medium.

2. Chang hu zi: The fruit of chang hu zi is elongated cylindrical, 40-50 cm long, with light green skin and white flesh, soft, of excellent quality. The fruits mostly set on secondary or lateral vines, and it is an early-maturing variety.

3. Miantaio hu zi: The fruit of miantaio hu zi is long with similar thickness top and bottom, slightly thinner at the stem end, with thin skin, light green, glossy, thick and tender flesh, white, with a single fruit weight of 1.5-2.0 kg. It keeps well when mature and is relatively early-maturing.

4. Da hu lu: The flesh of da hu lu is white, relatively dense in texture, with high water content, few fibers, slightly sweet, and of relatively good quality. Young fruits are used for cooking, and mature fruits can be used as containers. It is heat-tolerant, not cold-tolerant, not drought-tolerant, and likes fertilizer.

5. Xiaogan hu gua: The fruit of Xiaogan hu gua is elongated cylindrical, with thin green skin, thick white flesh, few seeds, and good quality. The single fruit weighs about 1 kg. It is an early-maturing, high-yielding variety.

6. Sanjiangkou hu zi: Sanjiangkou hu zi has tender flesh, a slightly sweet taste, and excellent quality. The single fruit weighs 750 g. It is relatively tolerant of low temperatures and relatively resistant to pests and diseases, with a yield of 3500-4000 kg per mu.

Cultivation Techniques for Bottle Gourd

1. Planting method: Bottle gourd can be directly sown in the open field before the last frost, or seedlings can be raised in protected areas and then transplanted. Before sowing, the seeds need to be treated. They need to be soaked for 24-48 hours, then sown, with a seeding rate of 250 g per mu. The management of bottle gourd seedlings is the same as for spring cucumber. You can refer to cucumber seedling techniques.

2. Sowing and seedling raising: Bottle gourd is raised in hotbeds, sown from late February to early March, with a seeding rate of 3.75 g per hectare. Before sowing, soak the seeds in 55°C warm water for 15 minutes, then place them under constant temperature of 25-30°C to promote germination. After the sprouts are fully out, sow them into nutrient pots. During the seedling stage, keep warm and prevent cold, provide ventilation and light, and keep the soil properly moist. The seedling age is about 30-35 days. About 10 days before transplanting, carry out low-temperature hardening of the seedlings.

3. Land preparation and fertilization: Choose oily sandy soil rich in humus as the cultivation field for bottle gourd, requiring that no cucurbit crops have been grown for 2-3 years. After harvesting the previous crop, promptly deep-plow 20-25 cm and apply sufficient base fertilizer, with 30000-45000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer per hectare, 15000-22500 kg of human feces and urine or 1500-1875 kg of cake fertilizer, and 300-400 kg of superphosphate.

4. Timely transplanting: 10 days before transplanting bottle gourd, make beds with a bed height of 20-25 cm, bed width of 100 cm, and ditch width of 50 cm, then lay plastic film and wait for planting. The planting spacing is 0.67 m, dig holes and plant single seedlings, water to settle the roots. Before plowing, use paraquat to weed once, after preparing the land spray butachlor once, and then carry out transplanting.

5. Plant adjustment: Bottle gourd can be cultivated with or without trellising. For ground crawling without trellising, vine pressing is needed to prevent wind damage. For trellising, when the seedlings grow to 30 cm tall, use 2-3 m long bamboo poles to set up an A-frame trellis, crossing at about 1.3 m. To facilitate lateral vines climbing and manual layered vine tying, 2-3 horizontal bars are needed. Bottle gourd mainly sets fruit on secondary and tertiary vines, so plant adjustment should be carried out, often pinching 2-3 times to promote the development of secondary and tertiary vines.

6. Fertilizer and water management: Bottle gourd has weaker growth vigor than other cucurbits, a short growing period, and concentrated fruiting. In addition to base fertilizer, topdressing and irrigation are also needed. Topdressing should be applied lightly and frequently. Apply fertilizer once each after transplanting survival and pinching, and during fruit enlargement. After starting harvest, apply topdressing in stages 1-2 times to promote the growth of later fruits. Bottle gourd requires more water, so water timely. During the fruiting period, in dry weather, water once every 1-2 days, but if there is a lot of rain, drain promptly to prevent waterlogging.

7. Timely harvest: Timely harvest can improve fruit quality, encourage continued fruit set on the upper part and growth of subsequent fruits, which is an important measure for early-maturing high-yield cultivation. When the young fruit's fuzz has basically fallen off and the skin color becomes lighter, it is the appropriate harvest time. Generally, the harvest time for the first batch of fruits is 15-20 days after flowering, and for the peak fruiting period, 10-12 days after flowering. Harvesting fruits when over-mature affects their edible value.

Pest and Disease Control of Bottle Gourd

1. Fusarium wilt

[Symptoms] It attacks the roots and the base of the stem vines. Leaves wilt severely. After flowering and fruiting, the initial disease appearance resembles water deficiency, with obvious wilting at noon, recovering in the morning and evening. The roots turn brown or rot, and the affected parts exude an amber gelatinous substance.

[Control] You can choose one of the following for root drenching: 50% carbendazim 500-fold dilution, 70% thiophanate 600-fold dilution, fulvic acid salt 800-fold dilution, special yellow wilt spirit 1500-fold dilution, 50% dexon 500-fold dilution, or 600-fold dilution of miebingwei, or agricultural streptomycin, etc.

2. Anthracnose

[Symptoms] Initial lesions are pale yellow and nearly circular, later the center of the lesions ruptures. In severe cases, leaves die, pale brown streaks appear on the petioles, and infected fruits show light green water-soaked spots, followed by nearly circular dark brown lesions with depressed centers. Sometimes the surface exudes an orange sticky substance or rots.

[Control] You can choose one of the following for alternating spray control: 70% thiophanate 600-fold dilution, 75% chlorothalonil 500-fold dilution, miebingwei 600-fold dilution, kemeiling 1000-fold dilution, fenghuan 1000-fold dilution, or sulfur suspension concentrate 500-fold dilution.

3. Downy mildew

[Symptoms] Affected leaves show small pale yellow spots. When humid, pale purple mold appears on the underside of the lesions.

[Control] You can choose one of the following for spray control: 58% metalaxyl 500-fold dilution, mancozeb acetate 500-fold dilution, 60% sandofan 500-fold dilution, kemeiling 1000-fold dilution, beideli 600-fold dilution, 70% mancozeb 500-fold dilution, or yishuangling 500-fold dilution.

4. Pests

[Damage] The main pests of bottle gourd are melon aphids, melon flies, yellow squash beetles, noctuid moths, etc., which damage the roots, leaves, stems, and fruits of bottle gourd.

[Control] They can be controlled by deep application or broadcasting of miler, as well as mixed spraying of pyrethroid pesticides with bisultap.