Gourd is an annual climbing herbaceous plant of the Cucurbitaceae family. The scientific name is [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.], also known as gourd, flat pu, gourd, pu melon, night flower, etc. The number of chromosomes is 2n=2x=22. Tender fruits are mostly eaten in tropical areas of Asia and Africa. Young seedlings and leaves are used as vegetables in West Africa. Mature fruits can be used as containers and are also used as rootstocks for grafting watermelons to prevent watermelon wilt.

Gourd is rich in nutrients, with an edible rate of 90%. Each 100g of tender fruit contains about 93g of water, about 0.7g of protein, 0.1g of fat, 3.1g of carbohydrates, 0.8g of crude fiber, and ash. 0.4g, calcium 16mg, phosphorus 15mg, iron 0.4mg, thiamine 0.02mg, riboflavin 0.01mg, niacin 0.4mg, ascorbic acid 11mg, etc. ("Food Composition Table", 1991). The gourd has fine flesh and a soft and fresh taste. It is a delicious food and also has certain processing value. According to documents recorded in the Warring States and Qin and Han dynasties, gourds played a pivotal role in China's food production at that time. "Guanzi Li Zheng" (51 BC - 3rd century BC) pointed out: "...if the melons, meat dishes, and fruits are not available, the country will be poor;...if the melons, meat vegetables, and fruits are available, the country will be rich." In the Han Dynasty, "Han Shu Shi Huo Zhi 1" (late 1st century BC) also emphasized the planting of "melons, fruits and vegetables" in corner areas. "Shi Ming" (2nd century) of the Eastern Han Dynasty records: "The gourd is stored, and the skin gourd is used as preserved meat. It is stored for use in the winter moon." It shows that during the Han Dynasty in China, people had already made gourd into preserved meat and used it as a dry food reserve. Gourd also has extensive medicinal value. "Compendium of Materia Medica" (1578) of the Ming Dynasty records that "gourd has a sweet and flat smell. It is mainly used to treat: quenching thirst and malignant sores; sore flesh in the nose and mouth; diluting water passages; eliminating heat; and removing troubles." It has "curing heart heat, benefiting the small intestine, and moisturizing the heart and lungs." , cure stone stranguria" effect. Moreover, not only the fruit has edible and medicinal value, but the leaves, vines, tendrils and flowers of the gourd have a "sweet and flat smell" and can "detoxify"; the seeds of the gourd "are mainly used to treat tooth decay, swelling or exposure. Teeth shaking pain." and " The pulp can nourish pigs. Rhinoceros petals can be used to cure diseases." Modern medical circles use gourds and their products to treat hyperlipidemia, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes, and make a new anti-cancer drug called "gourds." white".

Gourds have a long history of cultivation in China, as early as 2,500 years ago. Gourds like warm temperatures, but different species have different temperature requirements. Among gourds, long gourds are more widely distributed than other types. China has rich local variety resources in the Yangtze River Basin and Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces (autonomous regions). The area has a mild climate and abundant rainfall, which is suitable for the growth of gourds. At present, gourd has developed into a vegetable crop grown twice a year in early spring, summer and autumn in Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and other provinces.

In recent years, gourd cultivation has been gradually expanding to northern regions such as Shandong Province and Hebei Province. At the same time, due to the remarkable results of gourd hybrid vigor breeding, hybrid varieties of the first generation have fewer diseases and are easier to cultivate. , high yield and good early maturity, so it has gradually become one of the important vegetables cultivated in protected areas in early spring in various places. In addition, gourds are widely used by producers because of their strong resistance to stress and are suitable as rootstocks for watermelons and very early-maturing cucumbers.

China has a vast territory, varied topography, and complex climate types. Therefore, Chinese gourds, like other vegetables, have formed extremely rich and diverse germplasm resources under the action of long-term natural and artificial selection. According to statistics, there are 242 different types of gourd germplasm resources*** included in the "Catalogue of Chinese Vegetable Variety Resources" (Volume 1, 1992; Volume 2, 1998), of which 79 are included "Chinese Vegetable Varieties" (Volume 2, 2001).