How to Grow Bottle Gourd Best? A Detailed Guide to Cultivation Methods

Bottle gourd, also known as calabash, hulu, and piao gourd, is an annual climbing herbaceous plant of the genus Lagenaria in the Cucurbitaceae family. It is widely cultivated throughout China and also widely grown in tropical to temperate regions around the world. It can be harvested before maturity and eaten as a vegetable. After the mature gourds are dried in the sun, the inside can be hollowed out to make containers for holding things. Let's take a look below at how to grow bottle gourd best!

Growing Conditions for Bottle Gourd

1. Temperature: Bottle gourd is a warmth-loving crop. Seeds begin to germinate at 15°C, and the optimal growth temperature is 20-25°C. Growth and development are hindered at 9-10°C, and at 36-38°C transpiration is too strong, making premature aging likely.

2. Water: Bottle gourd has a well-developed root system and strong water-absorbing capacity, with luxuriant branches and leaves and high transpiration. In case of drought, it should be irrigated promptly. Water demand is greatest during the flowering and fruiting stage, and from the late fruit development stage until harvest, water should not be excessive.

3. Light: Bottle gourd tolerates weak light, but to ensure high yield and quality, it should be planted in open, sunny areas. Excessive shade affects the normal growth of the vines and fruit.

4. Soil: Bottle gourd has strong adaptability and grows well in slightly acidic soil (pH 6.5-7). Choosing well-drained sandy loam for planting gives higher yields.

Seedling-Raising Techniques for Bottle Gourd

1. Seed soaking: Select bottle gourd seeds of varieties suitable for local cultivation, soak them in 40°C warm water for 12-24 hours, remove and wrap them in gauze, shake dry, and crack open the soaked sweet gourd seeds.

2. Germination: Line the germination container with a layer of sterilized sawdust or sand, then add a layer of gauze on top. Place the soaked seeds evenly on the gauze for germination, keeping the temperature between 25-28°C.

3. Seedbed: Line the bottom of the bottle gourd seedling bed with 8-10 cm of horse manure or chopped grass, spread a layer of soil on top, tread firm and level, and disinfect with 70% Dexon wettable powder.

4. Soil mixing: For the bottle gourd nutrient soil, choose soil that has not been treated with herbicides such as Pursuit or chlorimuron-ethyl, sieve it well, and mix it with sieved decomposed farmyard manure at a 7:3 ratio.

5. Sowing: Arrange the bottle gourd nutrient bags neatly on the seedling bed and water thoroughly. Generally sow from April 5-10, place the germinated seeds with the sprout eye facing down, cover with soil, and water once.

Planting Methods for Bottle Gourd

1. Plot selection: For bottle gourd, it is best to choose flat land or second-bottomland with good drainage and fertile soil. Sloping land with irrigation conditions is acceptable. Corn, wheat, or soybean stubble is preferable. Avoid continuous or alternating cropping with white gourd, watermelon, and other cucurbits.

2. Land preparation and fertilization: For bottle gourd planting land, ridge in early spring when the soil is moist, and promptly compact to preserve moisture. The planting ridges should be long-mouthed ridges. Apply 2500 kg of farmyard manure and 150 kg of vegetable-specific fertilizer or sulfur-containing compound fertilizer per mu as base fertilizer.

3. Timely transplanting: The planting spacing for bottle gourd is 0.67 m, with single seedlings planted in holes, watered to set roots. Before plowing, apply Gramoxone once for weed control. After preparing the land, spray butachlor once, then proceed with transplanting.

4. Fertilizer and water management: Topdressing for bottle gourd depends on soil fertility and is done in combination with watering. Generally, 6 days after transplanting, apply 15 kg of bean bran soak liquid, 1.5 kg of biological phosphorus, and 1.5 kg of biological potassium per mu, mixed with manure water and drenched. Apply once every 7-10 days.

5. Vine training and pinching: Keep two main vines per bottle gourd plant. Apply directional soil once to make the vines lean in the downwind direction. When the first-order branches grow to 3 leaves, begin pinching. Watch for and pinch off second- and third-order branches. Pinch the main vines after August.

6. Hand pollination: Bottle gourd generally does not bloom in the morning or on rainy days, so do branch pruning and pinching every morning, and start pollination at 16:00 in the afternoon. Pollination can stop after End of Heat. Generally, two main vines set 6-8 fruits.

7. Timely harvest: Bottle gourd begins to be gradually harvested in early August. When the first crop of gourds reaches about 15-18 jin and makes a sound when pinched with a fingernail, they can be harvested. As a principle, harvest one day, and the next day first peel off the gourd skin, then cut the gourd strips. Do not cut gourd strips on rainy days.

Pest and Disease Control for Bottle Gourd

1. Fusarium wilt

[Damage] It attacks the roots and the base of the stem and vines. Leaves wilt severely. After flowering and fruiting, the initial symptoms resemble water deficiency, with obvious wilting at noon and some recovery in the morning and evening. The roots turn brown or rot, and the affected parts exude an amber gummy substance.

[Control] Use 50% carbendazim 500-fold dilution, 70% thiophanate 600-fold dilution, fulvic acid salt 800-fold dilution, special yellow wilt spirit 1500-fold dilution, 50% Dexon 500-fold dilution, miebingwei 600-fold dilution, or agricultural streptomycin, etc., to drench the roots.

2. Anthracnose

[Damage] Initial lesions are pale yellow and nearly round, then the center of the lesion ruptures. In severe cases, leaves die. Pale brown streaks appear on leaf stalks. Infected fruit shows pale green water-soaked spots, followed by nearly round dark brown lesions with sunken centers.

[Control] Use 70% thiophanate 600-fold dilution, 75% chlorothalonil 500-fold dilution, miebingwei 600-fold dilution, kemeling 1000-fold dilution, fenghuan 1000-fold dilution, or sulfur suspension concentrate 500-fold dilution in alternating sprays for control.

3. Aphids

[Damage] They deform and wrinkle bottle gourd leaves and can transmit viruses. Their secretions can also induce sooty mold. If not controlled in time, they will soon affect the tender leaves of the whole plant and most nearby plants.

[Control] After discovering a small number of aphids, they can be crushed by hand and then rinsed clean with water. Soapy water, noodle soup, or a 1:50 tobacco water spray can also be applied several times in succession.

4. Powdery mildew

[Damage] The plum rain season is a high-incidence period for powdery mildew. Yellow small spots first appear on the leaves, then expand into round or oval lesions, with a white powdery mildew layer on the surface.

[Control] Improve ventilation and light transmission conditions as much as possible. Timely prune out diseased plants and diseased leaves. Spray 1:1:100 Bordeaux mixture for protection. In the early stage of the disease, spray 50% carbendazim or other antifungal agents.