Bitter gourd, commonly known as "cool melon," is a heat-loving vegetable that thrives best in temperatures between 20-25°C. In recent years, through advanced breeding techniques, it has become possible to grow bitter gourd in three seasons—spring, summer, and autumn—and it's now becoming one of the main crops in many regions.
When selecting soil for planting, bitter gourd isn't overly particular, but it prefers fertile, moist, and deep soils with good drainage. Clay soils that are easy to irrigate are ideal. The typical bed width is around 1.5 to 2 meters, with ditches about 30–40 cm high. For single-line planting, the spacing between plants should be 60–70 cm (double planting), while for double planting, the spacing should be 40–50 cm (single plant).
Before sowing, the hard seed coat of bitter gourd needs to be soaked to improve germination. 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 such as Zaofeng No.3, Green No.1, Suiyou, and Emerald are recommended for early planting.
Water and nutrient management are crucial for bitter gourd. During the seedling stage and when the plant is flowering and fruiting, adequate water is necessary to keep the soil consistently moist. After heavy rains, drainage must be ensured to prevent root rot. A sufficient amount of base fertilizer should be applied before planting, using well-decomposed manure from pigs, chickens, or cows. Typically, 1000–1500 kg of manure is mixed with 40–50 kg of wheat bran or compound fertilizer, buried 30 cm below the ditch. Topdressing is done during early female flower formation and 3–7 days before harvest. After each harvest, a shallow trench is dug on both sides of the bed, and 40–50 kg of compound fertilizer or urea (10 kg) combined with phosphate (30 kg) and potash (15 kg) is applied, then covered with soil.
Once the vines start to spread, they should be manually tied to prevent entanglement. Excess lateral branches and yellow, dense leaves on the main vine should be pruned to improve air circulation. Timely harvesting is essential to maintain quality and promote further fruiting. Bitter gourd should be harvested when the young fruit is fully developed, the skin is smooth, and the top begins to shine.
Common pests and diseases include powdery mildew, anthracnose, downy mildew, damping-off, aphids, and cutworms. For powdery mildew, colloidal sulfur diluted 120 times or Xiezhongwei 500–600 times can be used. Anthracnose can be controlled with thiophanate methyl at 800–1000 times or carbendazim at 1500–2000 times. Downy mildew can be treated with 600 times of mancozeb or copper oxychloride at 800–1000 times. Damping-off disease can be managed with 300 times of Zhiqiao or thiophanate at 800 times. Aphid control uses 1000 times of myclobutanil, while flea infestations can be addressed with triclosan at 1500 times or chlorpyrifos at 2000 times.
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