Bitter melon planting methods and management techniques

Bitter melon tastes bitter, but its nutritional value is very good. There are many people who grow it in the vast rural areas of China. However, if you want to grow bitter melon well, you also need to master comprehensive planting techniques. Let’s learn about bitter melon planting methods and management techniques below.

1. Choose a suitable planting site

Bitter melon prefers land with deep soil, sufficient fertility and good drainage. Therefore, when choosing a planting site, you should choose a place with higher terrain, convenient drainage, rich in organic matter, and loose and fertile soil.

2. Variety selection

When planting bitter melon, you should choose excellent varieties with strong adaptability, high resistance to diseases and pests, many female flowers, long fruiting period and thick flesh to ensure the quality and sales of bitter melon. In Nanchang area, recommended bitter melon varieties include Ganyou No. 2, Maya bitter melon, etc.

3. Seed treatment and germination

After selecting the appropriate variety according to the local environment, crack the seeds, soak them in 58℃ warm water for 15 minutes, and then soak them for another 9 hours after the water temperature drops to 30℃. After washing off the mucus, wrap it with a wet cloth and place it in a 30℃ environment for germination. When 50% of the seeds turn white, they can be sown.

4. Sowing and Seedling Raising

Bitter melon cultivation is usually carried out in greenhouses in spring. Use nutrient soil to grow seedlings to promote healthy growth of seedlings. The nutrient soil is a mixture of decomposed organic fertilizer and loose field soil in a 1:1 ratio. After sieving, add 0.1%-0.2% superphosphate and 0.3% wood ash. Water the soil before sowing, cover it with 1 cm thick culture soil after sowing, and build a small arch shed to keep warm and moist. After germination, control the greenhouse temperature at 30-35℃. After 70% of the seedlings emerge, adjust the temperature to 25-30℃ during the day and 15-20℃ at night. Water and apply foliar fertilizer in time.

5. Transplanting and Planting

When the bitter melon seedlings grow to five leaves and one heart, they can be transplanted to the field. Late April is the best transplanting period, and 1,600 to 1,700 plants can be planted per acre.

6. Apply base fertilizer

Applying base fertilizer is the key to ensure good growth of bitter gourd. Before planting, mix the base fertilizer with the soil by tilling to ensure that the fertilizer is evenly distributed. It is recommended to use 5,000 kg of decomposed manure fertilizer, and match it with appropriate amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

7. Plant management

Build a support: When the bitter melon vines are growing, build a "human" shaped support, use a 2.5-meter-long, 3-cm-diameter bamboo pole, and manually assist the vines to get on the support.

Thin out branches: Prune off excessive third and fourth level vines promptly to avoid affecting the fruit setting rate.

Pruning and branching: Do not leave fruits below 50cm on the main vine. After 6-7 fruits are firmly planted, leave 6 leaves and top the vine.

Pollination: Artificial pollination is used to increase the fruit setting rate.

Thinning out young bitter melons: Appropriately thin out excess young bitter melons to improve the quality of remaining bitter melons.

8. Water and fertilizer management

Bitter melon grows fast and requires a lot of water, especially in the middle and late stages. Water the plants sufficiently when transplanting, control water for 10-15 days during the vine-spinning period, and water them promptly during the flowering and fruiting period to avoid flooding. In the early stage, low-content compound fertilizer is mainly used, the amount of fertilizer is increased during the peak fruit-bearing period, and the supply of water and fertilizer is reduced in the later stage.

IX. Pest and disease control

Bitter melon is susceptible to diseases and pests such as wilt, slow blight, powdery mildew, black spot, melon fruit fly, and aphids. Remove diseased leaves in time to prevent powdery mildew, and spray corresponding pesticides alternately when the disease occurs. Melon fruit flies can be killed by trapping or spraying with pesticides.

The above are the methods and techniques for growing bitter melon for reference by growers. Be careful when picking bitter melons. Since they mature asynchronously, you need to pick ripe melons every day to avoid damaging the vines.