A Study on Cultural Techniques of Wax Gourd in Yen Chau, Son La

Abstract

Wax gourd is not only a delicious vegetable but it has also longer shelf life and good
transport ability. In the upland area the wax gourd has high potential in expanding growing area,
increasing local household income and reducing erosion pressure on sloping land. This paper
summarizes the result of the wax gourd cultivar comparison and improving seeding method,
application of nitrogen fertilizer and planting density. The research was conducted in 2006 and
2007 in the northern west mountainous region of Vietnam, viz. Yenchau district, Sonla province.
Among four cultivars tested, including  Đa (local); Sat (Dong Anh, Hanoi); F1W35 and  ĐV2003,
cultivar Sat showed more advantages over 3 other cultivars in terms of  high yield (23.2 tones/ha)
and low fungal infection (6.9%). Cv. Sat appeared to be most suitable cultivar for Yen Chau
district. For this cultivar, pregerminated seeds in wetted sand and then sown to nursery covered
with rice straws resulted in highest germination rate and lowest input cost. Nitrogen rate of 120 kg
per ha yielded fruits with high flesh proportion high gourd yield and highest efficiency of nitrogen
fertilizer. The plant growth and fruit performance attained highest value at 70 cm x 50 cm plant
spacing.