Why does the luffa plant flower but not bear fruit with many leaves
Here are some experiences in green plant maintenance to answer netizens' questions about why the luffa plant flowers but does not bear fruit with many leaves. Next is a comprehensive introduction.
Why does the luffa plant flower but not bear fruit with many leaves
Recently, some farmers have reported that their greenhouse luffa plants have the phenomenon of flowering but not bearing fruit. The luffa plant grows too vigorously, with thick and large leaves, thick stems, long internodes, and no female flowers or fruit setting. The luffa plant has thick and robust vines, long internodes, large and thick leaves, and good growth, but only male flowers and no female flowers, so it cannot set fruit.
It is currently the time when various vegetables grow wildly, especially with suitable rainfall, many vegetables show excessive growth, and luffa is no exception.
Many friends have found that the luffa in their gardens only grows vines but does not bear fruit. Some people think that it is not yet time for fruit setting, and it will bear fruit after the beginning of autumn. Is that the case?
Actually, not. The key to high yield of luffa lies in pruning, that is, balancing the vegetative growth and reproductive growth, allowing the seedlings to grow first and then the fruit, so that both vine growth and fruit setting occur at the right time.
Next, I will introduce to friends the cultivation of luffa seedlings and the pruning of vines during the fruit-bearing period:
I. Seedling Growth: Use more base fertilizer and good organic fertilizer
Luffa is a fertilizer-loving plant and requires a large amount of fertilizer during the seedling stage, both water and fertilizer need to keep up.
Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the base fertilizer during cultivation. In addition to using farm manure and compound fertilizer during deep soil preparation, farm manure should also be used when the luffa vines grow.
digging holes at the root of the luffa plant to add farm manure is to connect with the base fertilizer during the seedling stage to ensure the nutrient needs of the seedlings.
Specific operations involve applying nitrogen fertilizer urea once every week during the seedling stage, and after the female flowers bloom, an appropriate amount of organic fertilizer can be applied by digging holes.
II. Pruning and fertilizing during the fruit-bearing period, pruning is the key, and prevention is mainly based on phosphorus and potassium fertilizers
1. Combining relationships, distinguishing between primary and secondary, and correctly pruning main and secondary branches
Our整理 of the luffa vines starts from the main vine, starting from the ground part of the main vine of the luffa, and first tidying up the main vine.
Then clean up the part of the main vine below 1.5 meters, remove all the side branches that have grown on this part of the main vine, and also cut off the yellowing old leaves at the root, as they do not need to continue photosynthesis.
This can prevent too many side branches and root ventilation, effectively preventing the occurrence of diseases and pests. Then go to the part of the main vine above 1.5 meters, and the side branches of this section can be left, laying the foundation for the lush growth of the main and secondary branches in the future.
2. Handling of side branches: Leave the side branches without topdressing, and directly bear fruit
The main function of the luffa side branches is to bear fruit. Throughout the luffa fruiting stage, relying solely on the main vine to bear fruit is very low, and a large number of side branches are needed to bear fruit.
It can be said that the fruiting of luffa is concentrated in the side branches. Maintaining the healthy growth of side branches is key, which requires enough space to be left for the side branches during pruning.
3. The final stage of luffa pruning: Pinching the top, both main vines and side branches are needed
Luffa grows unrestrictedly. As long as the main vines and side branches are not pinched and topped, they will continue to grow. Our goal in growing luffa is to bear fruit and achieve high yields, so timely pinching and topping is particularly important.
In practice, it is first necessary to determine the length of the main vine, generally recommended to be 2-3 meters, with 7-8 layers of side branches.
Secondly, the length of the side branches is retained at about 1.5 meters, roughly retaining 3 layers of fruit, and then the main vines and side branches can be pinched and topped.
Therefore, when pruning the side branches, we should leave 3-4 strong fruit buds and then top them from the 4th to 5th fruit bud.
Then fix the number of fruit buds, and do not retain the fruit buds at the cut side branch forks, and also cut off the adjacent flowers to allow the leaves to grow, which is also necessary for photosynthesis.
For the pruning of small luffa, the small branches near the small luffa can be cut off, excess flowers cut off, and the same method can be used to prune all the fruit retained on the side branches.
This allows the nutrients to concentrate on the small luffa. If these small branches are left, they will compete with the small luffa for nutrients, leading to fruit drop.
4. Fertilizing during the luffa fruiting period: Wood ash foliar fertilizer
Luffa requires a lot of nutrients during the fruiting period, whether it is vines or fruit, and a single ground fertilizer is far from meeting the requirements.
If fertilization is not increased during this period, the fruit may be very small or deformed, and the appearance will be poor. We can adopt a method of combining ground fertilizer with underground fertilizer and increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, stopping the use of nitrogen fertilizers.
Specific operations are as follows: Sprinkle wood ash on the ground to supplement potassium fertilizer, and at the same time spray foliar fertilizer potassium dihydrogen phosphate. In conditions, it can be mixed with plant growth regulators such as brassinolide, which will have an even more significant effect.
If you want to achieve high yields in growing luffa, pruning is a key part of management. In addition to handling normal growth, it is necessary to balance vegetative growth and reproductive growth.
We also need to plan the pruning well to ensure that the nutrients are used at the right place, not wasting fertilizers, achieving high yields, with thick, tender, and straight luffa fruits, obtaining a good harvest.
The above [] introduces the full content of why the luffa plant flowers but does not bear fruit with many leaves, for your comprehensive understanding and reference!