Zucchini plant

Zucchini plant

Zucchini is a plant that belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. The peculiarity of the courgette is that the fruit is consumed when it has not yet reached complete ripeness. The courgette is a plant with annual characteristics with a stem with both flexible and creeping herbaceous posture.

The flowers of the courgette are monosexual, in fact the male flowers are sterile, but essential for the pollination of the female ones by insects or the wind. There are different types of courgettes, in fact they could be elongated or round. The color of the fruit could be variable between green, yellow, white and orange depending on the species. The courgette plant is grown to consume both its fruit and its flowers.

Zucchini plant

There are various types of zucchini plants that can vary depending on the shape and cultivation area. The long courgettes, among which you can find the Sicilian, the Genoese, the green of Milan, the Florentine, generally have a cylindrical fruit with a green or white or yellow color.

Round courgettes, including that of Nice and Florence, have a rounded shape and are widely used to be filled thanks to their particular shape. The patisson courgettes have a lobed shape with a much stronger taste and quite similar to that of the artichoke. Zucchini is a fruit that is composed of 95% water, but which contains a good percentage of vitamins A and C and carotenoids, very important substances for the body.

Zucchini cultivation

The courgette plant is a vegetable that has Mediterranean characteristics and therefore prefers a climate that is temperate and mild. In fact, in the presence of temperatures below 12 degrees, the development of the plant is blocked, which could even suffer considerable and irreparable damage. Zucchini is a plant that requires a lot of water for its cultivation. The ideal soil should be of medium texture, deep enough, rich in organic substances and which does not allow water stagnation, which is very dangerous for the roots of the plants.

The courgette is a plant that requires many nutrients for its development, in fact it should often be fertilized with compost or mature manure that should be buried deeply to allow the roots to reach the nourishment.

Zucchini Plant: Zucchini Care

To obtain a correct cultivation of the courgette, the lateral branches should be pruned in the period between May and June, in order to guarantee an adequate development of the flowering branches. The soil around the seedlings should be cleaned of any pests, also providing a mulch. In the case of growing climbing varieties, it should be necessary to arrange for the installation of special supports to allow the plants to anchor there.

The zucchini could be affected by parasites such as aphids or whiteflies, in this case pyretorids could be used. In case of anthracnose specific products should be used. It is useful to remember that sulfur must not be used to combat powdery mildew,