Detailed Explanation of Bitter Melon Seed Saving Methods and Key Technical Points
How can bitter melon yellow leaves be effectively prevented and controlled? Please advise. The symptoms of bitter melon yellow leaves are as follows: the leaves of the entire bitter melon plant turn yellow and lose their green color, the leaf veins dry up, the stems have fine cracks or split into 1-2 cm fissures, the top of the plant grows slowly and gradually shrivels, and when the plant's root system is pulled out, it is found that the root system is underdeveloped....
Isolation to prevent mixing. Bitter melon is a cross-pollinated crop, and other bitter melon varieties can only be planted at least 2 kilometers away from the seed-production field. Otherwise, different varieties are prone to natural cross-pollination, making the saved seeds mixed and impure.
Artificial supplementary pollination. During the flowering period of bitter melon, rainy weather is unfavorable for cross-pollination, so artificial supplementary pollination is needed to increase seed yield.
Save seeds during the vigorous fruiting period. Seed saving in bitter melon should be carried out together with harvesting fruit for market. After bitter melon has been harvested 2-3 times initially and begins to enter the vigorous fruiting period, seed saving can begin.
Select good seed plants. Plants that grow vigorously, are free of pests and diseases, bear many fruits, have well-shaped fruits, and possess the characteristics of the variety should be selected as seed plants.
Choose seed fruits. Select the 2-3 fruits near the base as seed fruits. Remove the remaining young tender fruits as early as possible so that nutrients are concentrated for growing the seed fruits.
Harvest at the right time. When the seed fruits are fully mature but have not yet turned yellow, they should be harvested. Use a knife to cut open the stem end of the fruit to a depth of about 5-7 cm, take out the seeds inside, and the fruit can still be sold on the market. At this time, the fruit pulp has turned bright red, which is a sign of maturity.
Washing seeds and storage. After the bitter melon seeds are taken out, they should immediately be washed with clean water to remove the seed pulp. Spread the seeds out in the shade to dry, then put them into a loose cloth bag and store them in a ventilated, dry place. The seeds can also be placed in a glass jar. First put fresh rice husk ash about 3-5 cm thick into the glass jar, then put in the seeds, and cover them again with rice husk ash. Then store in a cool, ventilated place.