How to prevent flower and fruit drop in loofah? Scientific management is key

Support and vine hanging

Maintain good air permeability of the trellis. In hot weather, loofah is highly prone to fruit abortion, so when setting up the trellis, maximize the space for the stems and vines to spread, keep the vines from folding, and improve air permeability, thus increasing the fruit-setting rate and the visual appeal.

Scientific fertilization and watering

After entering the fruiting stage, generally water once every 3 to 4 days, preferably in the morning and evening. Along with watering, apply a fruit-promoting fertilizer. You can use decomposed peanut cake or soybean cake (applied deep in furrows), combined with a three-element compound fertilizer such as urea, phosphate fertilizer and potassium sulfate. The amount of fertilizer depends on the plant's growth condition, and it should be applied in small amounts but frequently.

Reasonably remove flowers and tendrils

Loofah is a cross-pollinated crop. Since the male inflorescence has a long flowering period, it consumes a large amount of nutrients during this time. Therefore, starting from the appearance of female flower buds, remove 80% of the male inflorescences on each loofah plant and keep 20% for pollination. Remove the tendrils in the early growth stage of the loofah plant and use manual tying instead of their climbing function. This is beneficial for photosynthesis, nutrient production and accumulation, and pest and disease control, enabling good pollination and fruit setting of loofah and a bumper harvest.

Pest and disease control

Pests and diseases should be prevented as early as possible, with timely and reasonable control. When they occur, use targeted pesticides for effective control. At the same time, for plants with severe disease, regularly spray New High Lipid Membrane + plant cell immune factors to improve plant resistance and induce viral DNA apoptosis. (Danni)