Detailed Guide to Pre-Sowing Seed Treatment for Trichosanthes kirilowii

Trichosanthes kirilowiiIts tuberous root is used in medicine under the names Huafen, Trichosanthes root, and others; its seeds are used under the names Gualouren, Louren, and Louzi; its rind is used under the names Louke, Gualoup rind, and others, being respectively the dried root, dried mature seeds, and dried mature fruit rind of the Cucurbitaceae plant Trichosanthes kirilowii or Trichosanthes rosthornii. This product is mainly produced in Henan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Guizhou, and Anhui provinces and regions. Sowing takes place in March each year. The method is to select orange-yellow, plump fruits with short stalks as seed stock when the fruits are ripe. At sowing time, cut the fruit rind open, take out the seeds, soak them in warm water at 40°C to 50°C for 24 hours, scoop them out and mix them evenly with moist sand, then place them indoors at 20°C to 30°C to promote germination. When most of the seeds have split open, open holes in the prepared seedbed, place 4 to 5 seeds in each hole with the split facing downward, and cover with soil 6 cm thick. After sowing, keep the holes moist; generally, seedlings emerge after 15 to 20 days.