Detailed Explanation of Key Cultivation Techniques for Luffa (Sponge Gourd)
Luffa is deeply loved by people for its crisp texture and sweet taste. Summer luffa is planted from late April to early July and comes to market from June to October. Its cultivation method is as follows: Variety selection. For summer luffa, choose varieties that are heat-tolerant, early-maturing and high-yielding. Site selection. Summer luffa has no special requirements for the soil, as long as the previous crop was not a cucurbit...
Luffa is deeply loved by people for its crisp texture and sweet taste. Summer luffa is planted from late April to early July and comes to market from June to October. Its cultivation method is as follows:
Variety selection. For summer luffa, choose varieties that are heat-tolerant, early-maturing and high-yielding.
Site selection. Summer luffa has no special requirements for the soil, as long as the previous crop was not a cucurbit, it can be planted.
Land preparation and sowing. Because there is a lot of rain in summer, the land for summer luffa should be prepared with deep furrows and high beds; the furrow width is 1.6 m and the bed surface width is 1.2 m. Summer temperatures are high and seedlings emerge quickly, so direct sowing is generally sufficient. Before sowing, soak the seeds for 3-4 hours, or soak them and then pre-sprout for 24 hours before sowing. Single row with two plants per hole, hole spacing 30-40 cm, place 3-4 seeds per hole, cover with 1.5 cm of soil, cover with gauze netting, and water. After emergence, keep 2 seedlings per hole.
Fertilizer and water management. During the seedling stage of summer luffa, apply manure water 2-3 times. At the early flowering stage, apply a heavy topdressing, applying 50 kg of compound fertilizer or 50 kg of peanut bran per mu. After every 2-3 harvests, apply topdressing again, using 15 kg of compound fertilizer, 10 kg of urea and 5 kg of potash fertilizer each time. During the seedling stage of summer luffa, there should not be too much water, as too much is not conducive to root growth. During the vine-extending and flowering stage, more water is needed, so water in the morning and evening on sunny days. During the harvest period, in addition to watering, keep a water layer of 10-20 cm in the furrow, and drain promptly on rainy days.
Field management. Insert bamboo poles to guide the vines. When the vines are 30 cm long, bamboo poles can be inserted to build an A-shaped trellis. After the trellis is set up, do not guide the vines immediately; instead, appropriately coil the vines and press the vines, and when female flowers appear, guide the vines upward and distribute the vines evenly. Hanging the gourds. When luffa bends, it should be hung; tie one end of a small packing rope to the stem end of the gourd and the other end to a small stone, and pull the gourd straight. This is generally done 2-3 days after picking the gourds. Remove old leaves. In the late harvest period of summer luffa, the diseased leaves and old leaves below affect ventilation and easily spread diseases, so they should be removed promptly.
Timely harvesting. Summer luffa takes 35-45 days from planting to the first harvest, the harvest period is 50-60 days, and from flower opening to harvesting the commercial gourd is about 10-12 days. Harvesting should be done promptly.