Bitter gourd, also known as "bitter melon," is a thermophilic vegetable that thrives best in temperatures ranging from 20 to 25°C. In recent years, with the development of new varieties, it has become possible to grow bitter gourd in three seasons—spring, summer, and autumn—and it is now becoming one of the main crops in many regions.
When selecting soil for bitter gourd, it's not overly picky, but it prefers fertile, moist, and deep soils with good drainage. Clay soils that are easy to irrigate are ideal. The planting beds are usually 1.5 to 2 meters wide, with ditches about 30 to 40 cm high. For single-line planting, the spacing between plants should be 60 to 70 cm (double planting), while for double planting, the spacing is 40 to 50 cm.
Before sowing, the hard seed coat of bitter gourd needs to be soaked to improve germination and promote healthy seedling growth. Spring planting typically starts at the end of January to April, summer planting from May to June, and autumn planting from July to August. Early spring varieties like Zaofeng No. 3, Green No. 1, Suiyou, and Emerald are commonly used.
Water and nutrient management are essential for bitter gourd. During the seedling stage and when flowers and fruits develop, consistent moisture is necessary. After heavy rains, waterlogging must be removed to prevent root rot. A sufficient amount of base fertilizer, such as well-rotted pig manure, chicken manure, or cow dung, should be applied before planting. Typically, 1,000 to 1,500 kg of compost is mixed with 40 to 50 kg of wheat bran or compound fertilizer and buried 30 cm below the ditch. Topdressing is done during early flowering and before fruit harvest, 3 to 7 days prior. After each harvest, a shallow trench is dug on both sides of the bed, and 40 to 50 kg of compound fertilizer or urea (10 kg) combined with phosphate (30 kg) and potash (15 kg) is applied and covered with soil.
As the vines start to spread, they should be manually tied to avoid entanglement and ensure proper air circulation. Excess lateral branches and yellow, dense leaves on the main vine should be pruned to enhance ventilation and light penetration.
Timely harvesting is crucial to maintain quality and encourage further fruiting. Bitter gourd is ready for harvest when the young fruit has fully developed, the skin is smooth, and the top of the fruit begins to shine.
Pest and disease control is an important part of bitter gourd cultivation. Common pests include powdery mildew, anthracnose, downy mildew, damping-off, aphids, and cutworms. For powdery mildew, colloidal sulfur diluted 120 times or Yitai Wei 500–600 times can be used. Anthracnose can be controlled with thiophanate at 800–1000 times or carbendazim at 1500–2000 times. Downy mildew can be treated with 600 times of mancozeb or 800–1000 times of copper oxychloride. Damping-off can be managed with 300 times of Ridomil or 800 times of thiophanate. Aphid control uses 1000 times of myclobutanil, while flea beetles can be managed with triclosan at 1500 times or 2000 times of chlorpyrifos.
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