Chayote

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Chayote (lat.sechium) - herbaceous plant of the Pumpkin family. Another name is Mexican cucumber. The birthplace of the plant is considered to be Central America. Chayote has been cultivated since ancient times. Today, Costa Rica is the main supplier of chayote. Translated from the Astek language, the word “chayotli” means “pumpkin covered with thorns,” and in fact, the plant tastes like pumpkin and cucumber at the same time.

Characteristics of culture

Chayote is a perennial climbing plant, the shoots of which reach a length of 20 m. The shoots are equipped with longitudinal grooves, are weakly pubescent over the entire surface, cling to the support with antennae. During active growth, the culture forms up to 8-10 root nodules weighing up to 10 kg. Depending on the variety, tubers can be green, light green, yellow or white. The flesh of the tuber is always white, similar in texture to the flesh of a potato.

The leaves are wide, rounded, with a cordate base, 10-25 cm long, pubescent with hard hairs, have 3-7 obtuse lobes. Flowers are greenish or cream, unisexual. Corolla is small, 1 cm in diameter (no more). Male flowers are collected in brushes, female flowers are single. The fruit is a round or pear-shaped berry 7-20 cm long with a thin, strong and shiny skin, often with outgrowths or longitudinal grooves. Fruit weight varies from 100 g to 1 kg. One fruit contains one large flat-oval seed.

Growing conditions

Chayote is not picky about soil conditions, it can develop normally on any soils, even poor ones, however, it gives large yields only on light, loamy, chernozemic or peaty, well-drained soils. Chayote positively refers to well-fertilized areas. DO NOT tolerate the culture of saline, heavy, compacted and acidic soils. Chayote is a light-loving plant, and it is preferable to grow it in sunny areas. Light openwork partial shade is not forbidden.

Landing

The whole chayote fruit is the planting material. You should not remove the seed from the fruit, since it loses its vitality. The fruits are planted in an inclined position with the wide part down in mid-March in greenhouses or in seedling containers under a film. The top tip of the fruit should remain uncovered by the soil substrate. After planting, the soil is thoroughly shed with warm water. The first sprouts of fruits give in 5-7 days. Chayote grows quickly enough, while forming a huge number of shoots. For this reason, the culture is grown in a trellis method with systematic pruning of non-fruiting shoots.

In central Russia, chayote is grown only in hotbeds or greenhouses, often in pots as a houseplant. Chayote fruits can be purchased in stores and markets in the fall. In order to preserve them until spring, they are laid out in a room with a temperature of no more than 5-10C. The plot for growing chayote is prepared in advance: the soil is dug up, filled with organic and mineral fertilizers, for example, rotted manure and nitrophos. Also, a support is also prepared in advance, on which the stem will curl.

Care

Chayote care consists of watering, loosening and dressing. It is important to regularly water the plants with warm and settled water; drying out of the soil in the near-stem zone should not be allowed. The use of cold water threatens the appearance of rot of a different nature. Top dressing is carried out 2-3 times per season; for this purpose, a mullein solution with the addition of mineral fertilizers is ideal. When the plant reaches a height of 70-80 cm, the lashes are pinched, leaving 2-3 healthy and strong shoots.

Harvesting and storage

Chayote is a short day plant, but regardless of this, flowering occurs only in September. The fruits can remain on the shoots until the first frost occurs. From one plant, the yield of fruits can be about 60-80 fruits. At a temperature of 5-10C, the fruits are stored well, without losing their qualities until spring. In the second year, up to 300 fruits can be obtained from a plant. Young shoots are also used for food.