Specialty vegetable crops

Cultivation Environment

Warm and sunny weather and wet soil are preferred. Grow well between 22℃ and 30℃ in thick sandy loam with good drainage, rich organic matter, and a pH value between 6.8 and 7.3.

Warm weather and wet soil are preferred. Grow well between 25℃ and 30℃ in thick sandy loam with good drainage, rich organic matter, and a pH value between 6.2 and 7.2.

Planting and Spacing
 

Transplantation of seedlings is preferable. The ideal temperature for germination ranges from 25℃ to 30℃. Germination takes about 10 to 20 days depending on the temperature. The seedlings can be transplanted when coming into 4 to 5 true leaves (40 to 50 days after sowing).

Plant spacing should be about 60 cm x 150 cm. Cultivate in single row.

Transplantation of seedlings is preferable. Germination takes about 10 to 15 days. The seedlings can be transplanted when coming into 4 to 6 true leaves (30 to 40 days after sowing).

Plant spacing should be about 60 cm x 150 cm. Cultivate in single row.

Fertilizer Application and Management

Basal Dressing: Apply about 1 000 kg of compost, 90 kg of both peanut cake and bone meal to each d.c..

Top Dressing: Apply 15g of organic fertilizer (N:P:K:MgO=4:3:3:1) to each plant as top dressing 2 weeks after planting. After that, apply fertilizer once every 2 weeks until the first fruits appear. Apply 15 g of organic fertilizer (N:P:K=9:3:7) to each plant every 2 weeks during the fruiting period until the plant withers. Spraying a suitable amount of liquid fertilizer to the leaves during the growth period may facilitate growth of the plants and fruits.

Irrigation: Maintain moderate moisture in the soil, and the soil should neither be too dry nor too wet.

( 1 d.c. = 674 square metres or 7,260 square feet )

Plant Adjustment and Fruit Retention

Train the plants by the two-stem or three-stem method to allow light penetration and good ventilation and thus facilitate fruit growth. Pluck fruits and lateral stems from the lower nodes. Retain only those fruits growing at the nodes at least 50 cm to 60 cm above the ground.

Harvesting

Start harvesting about 50 days after planting. Harvest the fruits when they are plump with a length of some 10 cm and a spread of some 9.5 cm, and when their skin turns dark purple and there is less or no white colour appearing on the fruit surface near their calyxes.

Start harvesting about 50 days after planting. Harvest the fruits when they are still lushly green, some 15 cm to 17 cm long and 3.5 cm to 5 cm wide.