The whole process of loofah planting method

Luffa is a common melon and fruit vegetable in our daily diet. It is loved by people for its refreshing taste and tender meat, and it is also rich in vitamins and fiber. In rural areas, loofah is favored by many farmers because of its easy management and long harvest period, becoming one of the most popular vegetables in summer with a large market demand. Let’s learn the whole process of loofah planting .

1. Planting season

The sowing of loofah is usually arranged in March in spring or June to July in autumn. In colder areas, sowing needs to wait until after the Qingming Festival. When sowing in early spring, you can raise seedlings first and then transplant them, while direct sowing requires waiting until the temperature stabilizes above 15℃. Direct seeding is often used in autumn.

2. Seed preparation

About 2,000 loofah seeds are needed per acre of land, and the amount of seeds should be doubled when direct sowing. Before sowing, air the seeds for two days, then put them into 50℃ warm water and stir. If there is potassium permanganate, add 1 gram for disinfection and wash them after 30 minutes. Then soak the seeds in 30℃ warm water for 12 hours, and you can sow them after the seeds have absorbed enough water.

3. Sowing and raising seedlings

Loofah can be sown directly or transplanted after raising seedlings. When direct seeding, first prepare the land and dig holes for sowing, sow 2 seeds in each hole, and keep the strong seedlings after they emerge. When raising seedlings, choose a sunny and ventilated plot of land, apply well-rotted farmyard manure, quicklime powder and wood ash, and then turn the soil and level it before sowing. After sowing, water lightly, build an arch shed with bamboo sticks, and cover it with film to keep warm and moist. When the temperature in early spring is below 15℃, the film should be pressed tightly, and when the temperature is above 25℃, ventilation is required. The water demand is small during the seedling stage. Water lightly when the soil is dry. The seedlings are about 30 days old.

4. Land preparation

Select land that has not been planted with melon crops in the past two years. One month in advance, deep plow the land 20 cm and dry the soil in the sun to kill pathogens in the soil and improve soil permeability and fertility. One week before planting, the land was prepared again. 4,000 kilograms of decomposed organic fertilizer, 60 kilograms of cake fertilizer, and 50 kilograms of superphosphate were applied per mu. After being evenly spread, the soil was turned over to make a plot with a width of 1.5 meters and a ditch depth of 0.5 meters.

5. Transplanting

When the loofah seedlings grow to 15-20 cm, they can be transplanted to the field. When planting in spring, the temperature should be kept at 18℃. On a 1.5-meter-wide plot, a row is planted on each side, with one plant in each hole, 40 centimeters between plants, and 1.1 meters in between. It is agreed that 1,800 plants will be planted per acre. When digging up the seedlings, they need to be carried with soil and handled with care to avoid damaging the root system. Water the roots after planting.

6. Field management

Field management of loofah includes building trellises, fertilizer and water management, pruning and disease and pest prevention. After planting, when the melon seedlings grow to 50 cm, start building trellises to guide the vines, preferably after 5 pm. At the same time, tillage, loosening the soil and weeding are carried out. In terms of fertilizer and water management, the seedlings need little water after transplanting, and small amounts of water should be applied when the soil is dry. Apply top dressing 2-3 times, and when there is a lot of rain in spring, focus on drainage. When flowering, apply top dressing with 40 kilograms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizer and 1,000 kilograms of decomposed farmyard manure water per mu, and you can also spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate foliar fertilizer . When pruning, cut off side branches below 80 cm, and pinch and top the branches when they grow to 3 meters to promote the growth of side vines and grand vines. During the later period of vigorous growth, cut off the vines that only bloom but do not bear fruit, and remove old, diseased and yellow leaves to facilitate light and ventilation. In terms of disease and pest prevention, loofah has strong disease resistance and the occurrence of diseases can be reduced through careful management. If necessary, pesticides such as thiophanate-methyl or carbendazim can be used for prevention.

7. Scientific harvesting

Loofah can be sown in early spring and harvested in May. It can be harvested about 11 days after flowering, or it can be harvested in time according to market demand. Luffa grows quickly and can be harvested every other day. During the high temperatures in summer, it is necessary to build a shade net to cool down and provide shade to prevent the plants from sunburn. After harvest, apply appropriate fertilizer according to the growth conditions.

In short, if you want to achieve high yields in loofah cultivation, many links need to be done well. Have you ever grown loofah? Feel free to share your experiences.