What causes flower rot in loofah? Causes and control methods
When growing loofah, improper management often leads to flower rot, seriously affecting loofah yield and farmers' economic returns. The orchid-like flower phenomenon in loofah is divided into two situations: dry rot and wet rot. With dry rot, the flowers wither and dry up; with wet rot, the flowers are infected by bacteria, show symptoms of dripping water, and can also be infected by pathogens that grow white or black fuzz. So what causes this orchid-like flower condition? Let's take a look with Qinong Net.
1. Causes of flower rot
Loofah flowers are large but thin, and during cultivation even a small knock can cause wounds on the flowers, especially during the flower-dipping period, which then leads to bacterial infection and flower rot. A lack of calcium and boron can also cause flower rot. Some farmers, in order to increase yield, often apply large amounts of potassium fertilizer, which affects the plant's absorption of calcium and boron fertilizer, reduces the hardness of the cell walls, and causes dry rot. In addition, flower rot caused by improper management is due to improper ventilation during cultivation. When ventilating, the speed is too fast, causing cold air to blow in rapidly and resulting in dry rot of the flowers.
2. Preventive measures
Strengthen cultivation management, spray foliar fertilizer to increase the plant's nutrition, do not cause damage to the flowers, be careful when dipping flowers, and ventilate slowly and gradually to prevent cold air from suddenly blowing in all at once. Some farmers habitually water after dipping flowers to speed up fruit expansion. This is actually a wrong method. Watering immediately after flower dipping will cause the stems and leaves to grow excessively, seizing nutrients from the fruit and affecting fruit set and fruit growth. On the other hand, it also causes high air humidity, making it more likely for the flowers to be infected by pathogens, producing the opposite effect and causing a large number of flowers to rot. Therefore, it is not advisable to water immediately after flower dipping, and a transition period of at least three days should be maintained. When dipping flowers, choose noon, because at least the temperature is high and the air humidity is low, so the flowers have stronger resistance after flower dipping.
3. Control methods
If the flower rot is caused by disease, promptly determine which disease it is and apply the right treatment to avoid the spread of flower rot. If it cannot be determined for the time being which disease it is, spray a mixture of carbendazim 800-fold solution + difenoconazole 800-fold solution + chlorothalonil 500-fold solution for control, which has a significant effect and can control most fungal and bacterial diseases. If dry flower rot occurs, promptly spray foliar fertilizer or apply fertilizer to the soil, because the main cause of dry flower rot is nutrient deficiency.
The above are the causes and control methods of loofah flower rot brought to you by Qinong Net. We hope it can help you. To learn more about loofah cultivation knowledge, please stay tuned to Qinong Net.