Detailed Explanation of Field Management Techniques for Gourds
The gourd is an annual climbing vine plant, and before it matures, the gourd can be eaten as a vegetable. In addition, gourd seeds have medicinal effects such as stopping diarrhea and inducing vomiting, and promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. Nowadays, the planting area of gourds in our country is very extensive, so how should we manage them when planting? Below, the editor brings you the field management of gourds. Let's take a look together!
1. Management during the germination stage
The period from when the seeds show a tendency to germinate until the seedlings grow leaves is the seedling stage of the gourd. Under normal management, they generally emerge from the soil about one week after sowing. After the seedlings emerge, the film should be broken in time according to the growth condition of the seedlings to improve field ventilation. This prevents poor ventilation from causing excessive field humidity. This can cause adverse phenomena such as water accumulation, root drowning, and seedling rot. Therefore, after the seedlings emerge, we must break the film in time, poke a small hole at the base of the seedling, and just expose the seedling, but we must not damage the seedling.
2. Management during the seedling stage
The period during which the seedlings grow 1-5 true leaves is the seedling stage of the gourd. The seedling stage lasts about one month, and during the seedling stage the soil should be kept moist. If a phenomenon of water shortage and drought is found, then a light drip irrigation should be carried out once, and the amount of water should not be too much to prevent root drowning. Then do a good job of trellising to facilitate the growth of the gourd's spreading vines. When trellising, attention should be paid to controlling the position of the base of the trellis and the seedlings; they must not be too close, to prevent damage to the seedling roots. Then fix the trellis to prevent it from being blown over by the wind, which would affect the growth of the gourd.
3. Management during the vine extension stage
After passing through the seedling stage comes the vine extension stage, which will continue until before the first female flower opens. During the vine extension stage, the main growth direction of the gourd is vegetative growth. At this time, the root growth rate of the gourd plant accelerates, and the leaf area increases. At this time, we should pay attention to doing a good job of pruning and tying the vines. When the gourd vines grow vertically to a certain height, they cannot continue upward. If management is poor, they will bend, affecting normal growth. Therefore, we should promptly guide and tie the vines to promote vertical growth of the vines along the bamboo poles. Then we should also do a good job of removing buds and pinching the growing tips, and of intertillage and weeding, to concentrate nutrients in the gourd.
4. Management during the expansion stage
After the gourd enters the fruiting stage, attention should be paid to doing a good job of fruit thinning. Usually, it is enough to keep one fruit per vine. To facilitate nutrient concentration, attention should be paid to observing the growth of the fruit, and promptly removing small fruits, deformed fruits, etc., and also promptly removing old and weak leaves, leaves damaged by pests and diseases, etc., to prevent excessive nutrient consumption and affect fruit expansion. The growth rate of the gourd during the expansion stage is very fast, so we should pay attention to timely watering and fertilizing to meet the fruit's demand for nutrients and water during expansion. Then appropriately share the weight for the fruit stalk and tie the gourd's stalk to a wire to reduce fruit drop.
The above is a brief introduction to the field management of gourds. The field management of gourds should be reasonably adjusted according to the different growth stages of the gourd. Only in this way can the growth of the gourd be ensured and the planting benefits improved. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you all for reading and supporting.