Where are the main pumpkin production areas located today?
Pumpkin is also known as wogua, fangua, beigua, etc. It is an annual trailing herbaceous plant of the genus Cucurbita in the Cucurbitaceae family. Its fruit can be used as a dish or as a substitute for grain. The seeds contain cucurbitine, which has the effects of clearing heat and removing dampness and expelling parasites, and has a controlling and killing effect on Schistosoma. The vine has a heat-clearing effect, and the fruit stalk has the effect of calming the fetus. Now let us take a look at where pumpkins are produced!
Where are pumpkins produced?
Pumpkin originated in the region from Mexico to Central America and has a cultivation history of 9,000 years. Columbus brought it back to Europe, after which it was introduced by the Portuguese to Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and other places, and it entered China during the Ming Dynasty. It is now widely cultivated around the world, with the largest cultivation area in Asia, followed by Europe and South America. It is widely planted across northern and southern China, with the most extensive planting in Northeast China, especially in the Heilongjiang region.
The production environment of pumpkin
Pumpkin is a warm-loving crop with strong tolerance to high temperatures and low temperatures. The suitable temperature for seed germination is 25-30°C, the suitable temperature for growth and development is 18-32°C, flowering and fruit growth require a temperature above 15°C, and the suitable temperature for fruit development is 22-27°C. Under low-temperature conditions, the formation of female flowers is favored. Pumpkin is a light-loving plant. With sufficient light, it grows well, and the fruit grows and develops quickly and has good quality. With many rainy days and insufficient light, it is prone to fruit abortion and also prone to diseases. Pumpkin has a well-developed root system, strong water absorption capacity and strong drought resistance, but it is not tolerant of waterlogging. It also has low requirements for soil fertility, but fertile, neutral or slightly acidic sandy loam is best.
Cultivated varieties of pumpkin
1. Miben pumpkin: Miben pumpkin is an early-maturing hybrid. The bottom of the fruit is enlarged, and the body is somewhat long, roughly papaya-shaped. The fully ripe fruit is yellow with light yellow mottling. The flesh is fine, dense, sweet and glutinous. The whole growth period is 95 days, and a single fruit weighs about 2 kg. It has strong resistance to viral disease.
2. Huanglang pumpkin: Huanglang pumpkin is an excellent local variety in Shanghai. The plant has strong growth vigor, thick stems and vines, many branches, and long internodes. The fruit is long club-shaped, with a longitudinal diameter of about 45 cm and a transverse diameter of about 15 cm. The peel is orange-red, and after full maturity it is covered with wax bloom. The flesh is thick, fine in texture and sweet, and relatively tolerant of storage and transport. The whole growth period is 110-120 days, and a single fruit weighs about 1.5 kg.
3. Damopan pumpkin: Damopan pumpkin is an excellent local variety in Beijing. The first female flower is borne on the eighth to tenth node of the main vine. The fruit is oblate, shaped like a millstone, with a transverse diameter of about 30 cm and a height of about 15 cm. The young fruit peel is dark green, and after full maturity it turns reddish brown with light yellow stripes and is covered with wax bloom. The flesh is orange-yellow, contains little water, and is sweet and mealy.
4. Xiaomopan pumpkin: Xiaomopan pumpkin is an early-maturing variety. The first female flower is borne on the eighth to tenth node of the main vine. The fruit is oblate, shaped like a small millstone. The young fruit peel is green, and after full maturity it turns brownish red with longitudinal ridges. The flesh is sweet and mealy, and a single fruit weighs about 2 kg.
5. Niutui pumpkin: Niutui pumpkin is a late-maturing variety. The fruit is long cylindrical, enlarged at the end, with a seed cavity inside. The flesh is coarse and relatively mealy, and it is tolerant of storage and transport. The whole growth period is 110-120 days, and a single fruit weighs about 15 kg.
6. Snake pumpkin: Snake pumpkin is a mid-maturing variety. The fruit is snake-shaped, and the end where the seed cavity is located is not enlarged. The flesh is dense, sweet and mealy, with strong glutinousness and good quality. The whole growth period is about 100 days.
7. Ganli Wang: Ganli Wang is an early-maturing first-generation hybrid with strong growth vigor, thick stems and vines, good fruit set, and a fruit development period of about 40 days. A single melon weighs about 2 kg. The fruit is oblate, the peel is dark green, and the fruits are neat and uniform with a high marketable rate. The flesh is 3.2 cm thick, dense, highly mealy, and good in flavor and texture. It is tolerant of low temperature and weak light, resistant to heat and viral disease, and widely adaptable. The general yield is about 2,000 kg per mu.
8. Hongli Wang: Hongli Wang is an early-maturing first-generation hybrid with relatively strong growth vigor, thick stems and vines, good fruit set, and a fruit development period of 35-40 days. A single melon weighs about 1.5 kg. The fruit is oblate, the peel is dark green, and the fruits are neat and uniform with a high marketable rate. The flesh is 3.0-3.2 cm thick, dense, and highly mealy. It is tolerant of low temperature and weak light, resistant to viral disease, and widely adaptable. The general yield is about 1,800-2,000 kg per mu.
9. Knife-cut pumpkin: Knife-cut pumpkin belongs to a variant of Chinese pumpkin. The reason it can regrow after being cut is that it contains a large amount of plant healing factor, which can accelerate wound recovery. The melon is long cylindrical in shape. The melon color is first oily green and then turns yellow. The length is generally about 120 cm, and the maximum can reach about 150 cm, with a diameter of 12-15 cm. The physiological maturity period is 20-26 days. It has a well-developed root system and wide adaptability to soil.