Bottle gourd（Lagenaria siceraria var. hispida(Thunb.) H. Hara) is a plant of Cucurbitaceae and Cucurbitaceae.It is a variety of gourd and an annual climbing herb.The stems and branches are furrowed, covered with mucilaginous villus, gradually falling off after aging, and becoming nearly hairless.Petiole slender, 16-20 cm long.The tendrils are slender, with slight pubescence at the beginning, gradually falling off, becoming smooth and hairless, and the upper part is 2 different.Monoecious, female and male flowers are solitary;Ovary terete, style thick and short, stigma 3, swollen, 2-lobed.The fruit is green at first, then white to yellow, due to long-term cultivation;The fruit shape varies greatly, depending on different varieties or varieties. The fruit is uniform in thickness and cylindrical, straight or slightly curved, up to 60-80cm long, green white, and white flesh.Seeds white, obovate or triangular, top truncate or 2-toothed, sparsely round, about 20 mm long.Flowering in summer, fruiting in autumn.[1]
It is cultivated all over China and widely in the Yangtze River valley.[1]The bottle gourd likes warmth, bears high temperature, and is afraid of low temperature and frost. The suitable temperature for growth and development is 20-25 ℃. The seeds begin to germinate at 15 ℃, and the optimal germination temperature is about 30 ℃. It requires strong light, especially in the fruit stage. The light is sufficient, which is conducive to the development of sitting melon and melon sticks.[2]
The gourd has high edible value and economic value.The tender melon is tender, delicate, nutritious, edible and dehydrated.[2]
Annual climbingherbaceous；The stems and branches are furrowed, covered with mucilaginous villus, gradually falling off after aging, and becoming nearly hairless.petioleFine, 16-20 cm long, with the same indumentum as the stem and branch, and 2 glands at the top;bladeOval heart-shaped or kidney shaped ovoid, 10-36 cm long and 10-36 cm wide, undivided or 3-5 lobed, 5-7 palmate veins, acute apex, irregular teeth on the edge, heart-shaped base, curved and open, semicircular or sub circular, 1-3 cm deep and 2-6 cm wide, both sides covered with pubescence,Abaxial lobeAnd dense on veins.[1]
The tendrils are slender, with slight pubescence at the beginning, gradually falling off, becoming smooth and hairless, and the upper part is 2 different.Monoecious, female and male flowers are solitary.male flower: The pedicel is thin and slightly longer than the petiole,PedicelCalyx and corolla are puberulent;calyxTube funnel-shaped, about 2 cm long, lobes lanceolate, 5 mm long;Corolla yellow, lobes crisped, 3-4 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, apex emarginate and apical pointed, 5-veined;Stamens 3, filaments 3-4 mm long, anthers 8-10 mm long, oblong, locules folded.Female flower pedicel slightly shorter or nearly equal to petiole;Calyx andCorollaAndroid flower;Calyx tube 2-3 mm long;Ovary terete, style thick and short, stigma 3, swollen, 2-lobed.[1]
fruitFirst green, then white to yellow, due to long-term cultivation;The fruit shape varies greatly, depending on different varieties or varieties. The fruit is uniform in thickness and cylindrical, straight or slightly curved, up to 60-80cm long, green white, and white flesh.Seeds white, obovate or triangular, top truncate or 2-toothed, sparsely round, about 20 mm long.Flowering in summer, fruiting in autumn.[1]
It is cultivated all over China and widely in the Yangtze River valley.[1]The bottle gourd likes warmth, bears high temperature, and is afraid of low temperature and frost. The suitable temperature for growth and development is 20-25 ℃. The seeds begin to germinate at 15 ℃, and the optimal germination temperature is about 30 ℃. It requires strong light, especially in the fruit stage. The light is sufficient, which is conducive to the development of sitting melon and melon sticks.[2]
Reproductive methods
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Variety selection
There are many kinds of bottle gourds, and early maturing varieties with strong adaptability, strong resistance, good marketability and high yield should be selected in production. Cylindrical bottle gourds are mainly cultivated in the Yangtze River basin, such as Wuhan Changhu, Nanjing Noodle and Hefei Line bottle gourds.[3]
grow seedlings
The open field cultivation in the Yangtze River basin is generally in the first and middle of March. The seedlings are sown in greenhouses and about 3.75 kg seeds are prepared per hectare.In order to ensure adequate nutrition supply at the seedling stage of bottle gourd, nutrient soil is generally prepared 7 days in advance of seedling raising.[3]
Preparation of nutrient soil
Prepare 1 portion of decomposed dry manure of livestock and poultry, 2 portions of plant ash, and 7 portions of sterile and fertile rural soil without cucurbitaceous vegetables, and mix them fully.Then, 0.5 kg of 45% ternary compound fertilizer or 1 kg of superphosphate are added to each cubic meter of nutrient soil. If 100 grams of 70% methyltobuzin wettable powder or 50% carbendazim wettable powder are added to it, disease can be effectively prevented.[3]
Seed treatment
The seeds shall be dried for 1~2 days in sunny days. On the one hand, the seed dormancy shall be broken, which is conducive to improving the germination rate and germination potential. On the other hand, the seeds shall be dried to kill the bacteria attached to the surface of the seeds.[3]
As the seed coat of bottle gourd is thick, it is not easy to absorb water, so seed soaking should be carried out before sowing.Soak the seeds in 55 ℃ hot water for 10-15 minutes, and keep stirring until the water temperature drops to 30-35 ℃, and then soak for 3-4 hours.After the seeds have fully absorbed the water, rub the seeds repeatedly with hands, rinse the mucus on the surface of the seeds with clean water, remove it, dry it in the air, wrap it with wet cloth, and place it under the condition of 25-30 ℃ for germination. During germination, wash the seeds with warm water at about 30 ℃ once a day, or drench and turn it for 2-3 times to prevent seed decay. After 3-5 days, when 80% of the seeds are white, sow.[3]
sow
Before sowing, water the bottom of the seedbed thoroughly, and level the soil at the bottom of the bed after drying.The seedlings are raised in a nutrition bowl with a diameter of 10 cm.[3]
Fill the nutrient bowl with nutrient soil 2/3 of the height of the bowl, and put the nutrient bowl into the seedbed from the end of the seedbed.Then spray water through with a watering can.Start sowing after the water has completely penetrated.[3]
When sowing, sow one seed in the middle of each nutrition bowl, with the bud mouth downward.After sowing, evenly cover the seeds with 1.5~2cm thick fine soil.Finally, put a small arch shed on the seedbed, cover it with a layer of film, and the sowing work is completed.[3]
Seedling management
Bottle gourd is a kind of warm vegetable. The key to cultivating strong seedlings is temperature management. If the temperature is too high, the seedlings are easy to grow, and if the temperature is too low, it is easy to form stiff seedlings.Generally, there is no ventilation before emergence, and the temperature is kept at 25-30 ℃.After emergence, the daytime temperature shall be kept at 20~25 ℃, and the nighttime temperature shall not be lower than 15 ℃.When the outside temperature reaches above 20 ℃, the film shall be opened for ventilation in time. When the temperature drops, it shall be covered with straw and other insulation materials.Generally, watering is not required at the seedling stage. If the soil is dry, watering should be carried out with a watering can in time.Weeds growing in the bowl should be pulled out in time to avoid competing with seedlings for water and fertilizer.[3]
In order to make the bottle gourd seedlings adapt to the external living conditions, the seedlings should be ventilated 7~10 days before planting.After 20-25 days, the strong bottle gourd seedlings with 2-3 true leaves can be transplanted and planted.[3]
cultivation techniques
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Transplanting and planting
The open-air cultivation of bottle gourd in the Yangtze River valley of China is generally planted in the first ten days of April.[3]
one
Site selection: The root system of bottle gourd is shallow, and it is not resistant to humidity during the fruit bearing period. Therefore, the soil of the settled plot is required to be loose and fertile, with strong capacity of water and fertilizer conservation, and convenient drainage and irrigation.In addition, the bottle gourd can not be planted continuously, and the plot that has not planted cucurbitaceous vegetables and melons within 3 years should also be selected for planting.[3]
two
Land preparation and border construction: before planting, land preparation and border construction shall be carried out first.Combined with deep ploughing and foot fertilizer application, under the condition of medium fertility, high-quality farmyard manure of 525~60000 kg/ha, superphosphate of 375 kg/ha, and nitrogen phosphorus potassium ternary compound fertilizer of 750 kg/ha were applied.After raking and leveling, the furrow is generally made into a half height furrow 1.3~1.5 meters wide, 40 cm wide and 20 cm deep.[3]
three
Transplanting and planting: In order to make the bottle gourd seedlings as happy as possible, it is best to choose sunny evening or cloudy day for planting.Select healthy seedlings without diseases and pests, with short and thick internodes and roots, and transplant them. Plant 2 lines per border. Plant on both sides of the border according to the plant spacing of 45~50cm. Generally, plant 33000~36000 plants/ha. After planting, immediately pour enough root setting water.In order to raise the ground temperature, mulch shall be covered after planting.Then dig holes in corresponding positions on the film to expose the bottle gourd seedlings, and finally seal the seedlings with soil.[3]
Post planting management
Seedling management after planting
After the live bottle gourd is planted, the seedling raising fertilizer shall be applied once in time, and 7500kg/ha of dilute fecal water shall be poured.Watering shall be properly controlled in seedling stage to promote rooting and prevent overgrowth of plants. In case of drought, timely watering shall be conducted to supplement moisture.At the same time, carry out intertillage and weeding for 1-2 times to remove weeds and loosen the soil.[3]
Management of vine growing period
When the fourth to fifth true leaves of the bottle gourd are unfolded, the growth speed of the plant is accelerated, the internode is elongated, tendrils begin to appear in the leaf axils, and the bottle gourd enters the vine pulling stage.[3]
one
Erecting and binding vine: about 30 days after planting, when the plant grows 8-10 true leaves and the vine is 20-30 cm long, erect the vine.Generally, bamboo poles are used to build a herringbone frame. The bamboo poles are inserted 8~10cm away from the bottle gourd plant. Small bamboo poles are used to set up 2~3 horizontal or inclined frames.When binding the main vine, first place the main vine on the bamboo pole, and then gently bind the main vine with the bamboo pole with a rope. After that, bind the main vine every 20-30cm.[3]
two
Picking psychological tendrils: The bottle gourd mainly produces melon from the side tendrils, so picking the heart and whole tendrils is the key to high yield.The whole growth period of the bottle gourd needs to be pinched 2-3 times to promote the growth of the lateral vine, make it blossom early and produce more melons.For open field cultivation, the first pinching should be carried out when the main vine has 6~8 leaves. There are many back side vines after pinching, so two strong side vines should be left to lead to the shelf, and the redundant side vines should be cut off in time.[3]
When male and female flowers grow on the main and side vine, the bottle gourd enters the flowering and fruiting period.[3]
Management of flowering and fruiting period
one
Fertilizer and water management: The bottle gourd will blossom to bear fruit for about 10 days, and the fruit will be concentrated. Therefore, water and fertilizer management should be strengthened.Generally, manure water shall be applied every 10-15 days, or combined with watering, and compound fertilizer shall be applied at the rate of 150-225kg/ha.In the melon bearing period, special attention should be paid to keeping the soil moist.[3]
two
Pinching: The second pinching will be carried out after the side vine produces melons, which will encourage the sun vine to sprout and produce melons, and then let it grow naturally.The third pinching can also be carried out for those with strong growth potential.After each pinching, timely topdressing with vine fertilizer once and watering with thin fecal water.[3]
three
Weeding and leaf picking: The bottle gourd grows fast and leaves occur frequently.
four
Principle of leaf picking: Do not pick functional leaves when picking yellow leaves, pick bottom leaves with high density, and do not pick sparse upper leaves.When picking leaves, weeds growing around the plant shall be pulled out, invalid branches at the base of the plant shall be removed, ventilation and light transmission shall be strengthened, and nutrient consumption shall be reduced.[3]
Harvest Management
recovery
The bottle gourd can be harvested about 60 days after planting.The best time for bottle gourd harvesting is when the melon skin becomes pale, slightly white, and the meat is firm and elastic.When harvesting, use scissors to cut, and put the harvested bottle gourds in order to maintain good merchantability.[3]
Harvesting period management
one
Top dressing: In order to promote the growth of subsequent melons, after the first batch of melons is harvested, top dressing of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizer is about 150 kg/ha, and then according to the growth trend, top dressing of fertilizer is applied once for every 2-3 batches of melons.[3]
two
Fruit thinning: If a single plant produces 4-6 melons at a time, the nutrient supply of young melon is insufficient, and it is easy to produce deformed fruit.Therefore, in order to reduce nutrient consumption and improve the marketability of melons, fruit thinning should be carried out in a timely manner, that is, 2-3 melons should be left per plant, and other young melons should be removed 3 days after flowering.[3]
Disease and insect control
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Pay attention to prevention and control of bottle gourd in early stageaphidWhen the damage is found, 2000 times of pirimicarb or 1500 times of omethoate shall be used for spraying control;Pay attention to prevention and control in the middle and later periodpowdery mildewAt the initial stage of the disease, we can use 1200~1500 times of triadimefon or 600~800 times of thiophanate methyl to spray.[2]
Key values
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The gourd has high edible value and economic value.The tender melon is tender, delicate, nutritious, edible and dehydrated.When the fruit is tender, it is eaten as a vegetable.[2][6]
