Luffa flowers are mostly unisexual flowers, that is, male flowers and female flowers are generated on the same plant respectively. Generally, male flowers occur first, and then female flowers occur.

Both male and female bloom spend their time after the dew dries every morning, from 7: 00 to 9: 00 on sunny days, and when the humidity is high and the temperature is correspondingly low on rainy days, they will be delayed until after 10. The flowering period is short. Generally, after 24 hours, the corolla withers naturally, the stigma turns brown, and the ability of germination and pollination is gradually lost. Before the anther opens 1 day, pollen grains have germination ability, so pollination and fertilization can be carried out. However, the most fertile period is when the corolla is in full bloom, so this opportunity must be grasped when artificial pollination or hybridization is carried out. The occurrence of male and female flowers of Luffa has a certain law, which is closely related to its variety attributes. Generally, male flowers differentiate earlier and are planted at lower nodes of the plant. Female flowers differentiate late, and the node position is high. Generally, early-maturing varieties are planted in axils of 4-5 nodes, while middle-late-maturing varieties are planted in axils of 8-9 nodes. In addition, the node position generated by female flowers is related to temperature and light. According to the seedling situation of Luffa in winter in recent years, under the condition of low temperature and short sunshine, the node position of female flowers is reduced for early-maturing varieties and 4-5 nodes for middle-maturing varieties. In cultivation management, the early management should focus on preventing loofah from falling seedlings.

In greenhouse cultivation, the ventilation in winter and spring is small, the air humidity is relatively high, the opening time of male and female flowers is late, and the anthers are scattered late after flowering, so it is necessary to postpone the pollination time appropriately to get results. In addition, when the temperature is too low, the male flowers have no pollen, so it is necessary to treat them with hormones and smear them to promote fruit setting.

Excerpt from: Interactive Encyclopedia "Luffa Flower"