What variety is black bitter melon, and what are its seedling-raising methods?

Bitter melon is one of the more common vegetable varieties in people's daily lives, with the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. In recent years, a black bitter melon variety has begun to attract more attention. Let's get to know it together below.

1. What is the black bitter melon variety? What are its characteristics?

The fruits of this variety are longer than those of ordinary bitter melon, generally 25 to 30 cm long, about 8 cm in diameter, with an average single fruit weight of 500 to 600 grams. The flesh is relatively thick. The key point is that the bitterness of this bitter melon is much milder than that of ordinary bitter melon, the texture is very crisp and refreshing, and the quality is excellent. Besides stir-frying, cold dressing, making soup, and using as filling, it can also be eaten raw. Although the bitterness is mild, its effect of clearing heat and reducing internal fire is in no way inferior. Compared with ordinary bitter melon, all kinds of nutritional components are equal or better, and it is rich in natural anthocyanins and chlorophyll, with strong antioxidant and anti-aging effects. This variety has vigorous growth, strong disease resistance, and wide adaptability, and can be planted in both northern and southern China. It bears especially many fruits, with fruits forming at every leaf axil, and has a long harvest period, increasing yield by more than 40% compared with ordinary bitter melon.

2. When is black bitter melon planted? What are the seedling-raising methods?

1. Planting time

Black bitter melon is generally planted in February each year, or from October to November. However, when sowing, a seedbed needs to be built. After the seedbed is prepared, water it thoroughly, then evenly scatter the seeds on the seedbed, gently press the seeds into the soil with a rake, and finally cover with a layer of straw and plastic film, or directly build a greenhouse for greenhouse seedling raising, all of which are acceptable.

2. Seed soaking and germination promotion

Before sowing, the seeds should be fully soaked and germinated. First soak them in warm water at 50°C to 60°C for 15 to 20 minutes to soften the seed coat and kill the pathogens carried by the seeds, then soak at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours. Take out the seeds, wash off the sticky substance on the seed surface, wrap them in wet gauze, and germinate them at 30°C to 32°C. During germination, if the gauze is not wet enough, spray water in time, and also wash the seeds 1 to 2 times each day. In spring, February to March, the temperature is low, so germination needs to be carried out in a constant-temperature cabinet. If no constant-temperature cabinet is available, simple heating facilities such as light bulbs can be used instead. In summer and autumn, room temperature is sufficient.

3. Seedling stage management

Germination begins 2 to 3 days after starting germination promotion. When most seeds have their radicles just emerging from the seed coat, they can be sown. In summer and autumn, direct sowing in the open field is mainly used. Before sowing, dig the sowing holes 2 to 3 cm deep, place 1 to 2 seeds in each hole, cover with 0.5 cm of garden soil or 1 to 2 cm of mushroom compost, bagasse, or other substrate, and water thoroughly. In early spring sowing, nutrient cups filled with nutrient soil are generally used for seedling raising. The nutrient soil can be prepared from vegetable garden soil or pond mud plus mushroom compost, bagasse, and other organic matter and a small amount of compound fertilizer.

4. Seedling management

Before sowing, first wet the nutrient cups, sow 1 to 2 seeds per cup, cover with 1 to 2 cm of substrate after sowing, then water thoroughly, and try to keep the temperature inside the shed at around 30°C. If the temperature is too low, cover the seedling cups with another layer of film after sowing, and uncover the film when seedlings emerge. Under normal temperature, seedlings emerge in 5 to 7 days. From 14 to 16 days after sowing, when the two true leaves are fully expanded and the third true leaf begins to appear, they can be transplanted.

5. Precautions

During the seedling stage, if the nutrient soil has chemical fertilizer added, generally no additional topdressing is needed. For direct sowing in the open field or nutrient cups with little fertilizer, apply a seedling-promoting fertilizer once 5 to 7 days after emergence, using dissolved compound fertilizer at a concentration of 0.1% to 0.2%.

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