What are the key points for snake gourd cultivation and management? Explained clearly in one article
Snake gourd is an annual to perennial climbing crop. Its fruit is very long, similar to loofah, but longer and thinner than loofah. Snake gourd is cultivated to some extent in both northern and southern China, and it combines ornamental, medicinal and edible uses. Snake gourd can clear heat and detoxify, and promote bowel movement, offering considerable benefits to the human body. So how should we manage it when growing snake gourd? Let's take a look together below!
1. Reasonable fertilization
The snake gourd fruit is thin and long, and its growth capacity is stronger than that of most other gourds, so its demand for fertilizer and nutrients is very high. First, after the seedlings are successfully transplanted, apply a sufficient amount of settling water to improve the survival rate of the transplanted seedlings. Then, according to the growth stage of the snake gourd and the soil conditions, apply appropriate topdressing. After the first batch of snake gourd fruit matures, apply fertilizer once after each harvest. This is because new fruit will grow after harvest, and the new fruit needs nutrients the most, and most of the nutrients have been taken away with the mature fruit at harvest, leaving the plant very weak. For topdressing, use an appropriate amount of farmyard manure mixed with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium elements. If nutrients are insufficient, it can easily lead to deformed fruit, small fruit and other phenomena in snake gourd, affecting yield and quality.
2. Timely watering
The snake gourd plant is large and its root system is strong, making it relatively drought tolerant, but it still needs a large amount of water throughout its growth period. If water is insufficient during growth, it will reduce the fruit-setting rate of snake gourd, hinder fruit expansion, cause various poorly developed fruit and even lead to premature aging of the plant. Therefore, in management we must ensure that snake gourd has sufficient water, and water it promptly when water shortage is found, especially during high-temperature and drought conditions in summer. Under normal circumstances, water once every 5-7 days, which can effectively keep the soil in a moist state.
3. Pruning and trellising
As mentioned earlier, snake gourd is a vine plant, and its fruit is thin and long. The vines of snake gourd also have a strong ability to grow and climb, and after maturity the number of vines is large. Therefore, trellising work is very important. When the vines exceed 30 cm in length, the vines should be tied immediately to guide them to successfully climb the trellis. Snake gourd has a high fruit-setting rate, and both the main vine and branches can bear many fruit, but when fruit set at the same node, the quality of fruit on the main vine and branches is relatively poor. Therefore, according to the specific planting method, we should appropriately prune the plant and promptly remove excess branches, leggy branches and all kinds of branches that are not beneficial to the plant. This improves the quality of snake gourd and the efficiency of cultivation.
4. Disease control
Disease control is emphasized in all of the editor's articles, because some pests and diseases may occur during every growth period of snake gourd. We must strengthen management of the gourd field, promptly clean up fallen leaves and fallen fruit, and take the pruned branches out of the orchard together to reduce sources of disease in the gourd field and lower the incidence of disease. Then disinfect the gourd field regularly, observe the growth of snake gourd, and after discovering disease, remove diseased fruit and diseased leaves and take them out of the gourd field for disposal. If you want to know the specific pests and diseases of snake gourd, you can visit our website to check!
The above is a brief introduction to the key points of snake gourd cultivation and management. You may have seen snake gourd relatively rarely, but with the development of China's vegetable industry, snake gourd is certain to come into people's view. So those who have ideas about growing it can consider it after understanding it comprehensively. That is all for today's introduction. If you want to learn more related information, please continue to follow our website!