4. Loofah as a new effective method 4.1.

Introduction of loofah

A loofah, as it is commonly known, is a fibrous plant seed pod. The luffa plant is a cucurbit, a group of plants including gourds, pumpkins, and cucumbers. It grows as a flowering annual vine of subtropical Asian origin. The pollinated flowers grow cylindrical green fruits that eventually develop into a seed pod filled with many intertwined plant cellulose fibers. The skin is removed to reveal the "loofah" inside. A loofa, loofah or luffa is the dried husk of the cylindrical fruit from a
tropical plant of the genus Luffa. Malaysia has many loofah plantation area as its climate is suitable for the growing of luffa.

4.2 Planting of loofah

4.2.1 Selecting Seeds and Producing Transplants - Presently, one of the most difficult aspect of entering into commercial luffa sponge gourd production is obtaining large volumes of high quality seed. Much of the luffa seed sold for home gardens produces small, low-quality sponges with weak fibers. Once you have produced luffa sponges of the quality you desire, save your own seed. Keep in mind that luffa gourds cross-pollinate easily. To maintain trueness-to-type year after year, do not grow different luffa cultigens within 1500 feet of each other. Luffa seed germination is often slow and sporadic. To obtain good plant stands, luffa gourds should be produced from transplants. Soak seed in warm water for 24 hours prior to seeding. Sow seeds, two to three per cell, in flats. Thin to one plant per cell after the first true leaves appear. Grow for four to six weeks in a greenhouse at about 65-70 oF. Luffa should be transplanted outdoors after all danger of frost is past. 4.2.2 Site Selection and Fertilization - Luffa gourds require a well-drained soil in a location where they will have full sun and good air circulation. Conduct a soil test prior to planting and follow lime and fertilizer recommendations for cucumbers. Two or three times during the growing season add 20-25 pounds nitrogen per acre as a side-dress or through the drip-irrigation system.

4.2.3 Planting and Trellising - To speed growth in the spring in cooler climates, luffa gourds should be grown on raised beds with black polyethylene mulch. Irrigation is required with dripirrigation being the preferred method. Luffa sponge gourds benefit greatly from being grown on a trellis system. If luffa gourds contact the ground, fruit rot, discolored sponges, and misshaped gourds are usually the result. A vertical trellis, similar in design to ones used for trellised cucumbers and pole beans, is most commonly used. It must, however, be VERY STURDY!!. To support the weight of mature gourds, 4" x 4" posts set ten feet apart are recommended. The top horizontal support should be a heavy gauge wire or cable. Several other wires can be run horizontally between the top wire and the ground. To help train the vines to the trellis, string can be run between the top and bottom wires in a V-pattern, as for pole beans, or a nylon mesh can be used. Space rows five or more feet apart to accommodate equipment. In-row spacing of 12-18 inches has produced the highest yields of marketable sponges. The plants need to be hand trained weekly until they reach the top wire. Try to keep all fruit off the ground and away from the trellis wires. Prune plants by removing the first four lateral shoots (from the soil line upwards). As for all cucurbits, luffa gourds need to be pollinated. Position one or two hives of bees per acre nearby when the plants are in full bloom to ensure adequate pollination. 4.2.4 Harvesting and Processing - In autumn, mature gourds will begin to turn brown and dry. Check plants frequently and remove any dried gourds. These will be brown, feel light and dry, and rattle with loose seeds when shaken. After the first killing frost, go through the field again and remove any more dried gourds. Remaining gourds can be allowed to continue drying in the

field or be brought inside to dry in a warm, well-ventilated area. Do not let dried gourds hang in wet weather for any length of time or the sponges will discolor. Store dried gourds in a dry, well ventilated area on racks or screens or suspended in mesh bags. If gourds are mature when dried, the skins will be easy to remove from the sponges. Simply soak in warm water, from five to twenty minutes, until the sponges slip out of the skins. When the sponges are free from the skin and excess pulp, a 10% chlorine bleach solution can be used as the final rinse to lighten the sponges. Another harvesting/cleaning method that can be used, particularly in areas with a long growing season, is to remove mature gourds (dark green) when they first start to yellow and the skin begins to release from the sponge. When the gourd is gently squeezed, the skin should kind of 'pop' indicating that it is starting to loosen from the sponge. At this stage, the blossom end cap can be broken off, and a vascular bundle can be pulled up the side of the gourd like a zipper. The sponge will pop out and be very wet and white. Quickly rinse the sponge in water to prevent the plant juices from oxidizing on the sponge. Allow sponges to dry thoroughly on racks or suspended from hooks or lines. These sponges do not need to be soaked or bleached. Harvesting this way, however, does require that you check the plants every day or two as the gourds mature. Seeds can be removed before or after the skins are removed. If the skins are intact, break the cap off the distal (bloom) end of the dried gourd and shake the gourd or beat two gourds together. Depending on the final intended use for the sponge, seed removal can be expedited by cutting the sponge perpendicular to the long axis (as for bath sponges) or along the long axis (to make mitts and pads). Save seeds from good sponges for the next growing season.[3] 4.3 Luffa Bed Filter Characteristic: Luffa is dried fruit of Luffa sponge guard plant. It is composed of 60% cellulose, 30% hemicelluloses and 10% lignin;presented[2]
Luffa cylindrica has alternate and palmate leaves comprising petiole. The leaf is 13 and 30 cm in length and width respectively and has the acute-end lobe. It is hairless and has serrated edges. The flower of Luffa cylindrica is yellow and blooms on AugustSeptember. Luffa cylindrica is monoecious and the inflorescence of the male flower is a raceme and one female flower exists. Its fruit, a gourd, is green and has a large cylinder-like shape. The outside of the fruit has vertical lines and a reticulate develops inside of the flesh. Luffa cylindrica grows about 12 cm long. The stem is green and pentagonal and grows climbing other physical solid[1]

(a) (b) (c)

(f) (e) (d)

(e) (d)

(g) (i)

(h)

(l) (j)

(k) Diagram 1

Description of Diagram 1 Picture (a) : The first step is to select seeds for planting. Good mature seeds are typically dark and hard. Immature seeds are a light color and are softer. Luffa seeds look similar to watermelon seeds. Save the seeds from your best loofahs in the fall for the next year Picture (b) : Thin plants to one per pot or planting location. The seedlings grow slowly while

the roots develop. Provide lots of sun and don't let the soil get too dry. Small pots may need water every day, just don't over water. The plants can't survive muddy waterlogged soil. These plants were started in 4 inch(10cm) pots which is good for about a one month early start. If the luffa plants will be in pots for longer than a month a 5 or 6 inch(13-15cm) pot would be better.We reuse our plastic pots but peat pots are another environmentally friendly way to start plants. Plantable peat pots minimize root damage and transplant shock. Tearing the bottom and side when planting will help the roots grow out. Picture (c) : Once the plants send out the first normal leaf or two, the luffa are big enough to transplant. The roots by this time may be 6 inches (15 cm) long or longer. Wait until all danger of frost is passed and the soil is warm. Cool overnight air temperatures don't seem to hurt them but an extended cold spell can stop their growth. The average soil temperature needs to be warm enough. Luffa are somewhat sensitive to transplant shock so be careful when planting. Leaving the plants outside a couple days before planting helps them to adapt. Luffa plants prefer good well drained soil but seem to tolerate a fairly wide range of soil types. Working some organic compost into the ground a few months before planting can help feed the roots. Picture (d) : While the luffa plants are small they are vulnerable to weeds and pests. It is important to keep the weeds off them. Shade from weeds will stunt the plants at this point. Slugs can damage the small stems. Birds may snip off pieces. Too much rain can drown them. Black plastic or dark mulch around the small luffa plants will help warm the soil and reduce weeds. Once the vines begin to bolt and grow larger, the luffa are tough enough to mostly fend for themselves. The vines will climb over most obstacles. Picture (e) : The luffa vines must have a strong trellis system to climb. We grow most of ours on chain link fence because it is already there. The vines prefer to grow much taller and will do

better on a 6 to 10 foot(2-3 m) high trellis. The vine length can exceed 30 feet(9m). The loofah sponges can get heavy, so the more places the vine tendrils can hold on to the better. They won't grow as well on a single cable as they do growing into lattice or fence links with many support points. Luffa will circle and climb wooden poles if the surface is rough enough. They can also climb on walls with a rough surface.

Picture (f) : After the vines bloom, pollination has to occur before a fruit forms. Bees of all types are attracted to the big yellow flowers and perform much of the work. Ants also spend a lot of time on luffa vines. There are small triangular leaf-like structures at the base of the flowers that attract ants. The blooms will fall off and the pollinated ones will form the start of a loofah sponge at the base of the former flower. If pollinating insects are in short supply, the flowers can be hand pollinated. Pull off a male flower and rub it on the females or else use a cotton swab to move pollen between flowers. Picture (g) : The luffa has grown up and curl to the fence.Let it be and wait until it turn to dark green and black. Picture (h) : The first step is to select a loofah that is ready to be peeled. Luffa pods
lose the dark green color and become lighter in weight when ready. Some varieties go from green to dark brown. Some types turn a yellow or light brown color. The photos show two different varieties. Sometimes just being a lighter green signals ripeness. The skin feels loose and thinner when they are ready to pick. If it feels like it can be peeled easily then it is ready. Picture (i) : The loofah sponges can be removed by twisting until the vine breaks. If the vine is still alive it may be desirable to neatly cut the sponges off in order to minimize damage to the vine. Picture (j) : Slamming the luffa pod against a hard surface will knock the skin and seeds loose. Slightly crushing the sponges can also loosen the skin. This is especially helpful for peeling less mature loofah with hard green skin. The skin will normally fall off easily if the loofah is fully mature Picture (k) : Use your thumbs to find a loose spot along a seam. Push in to create a tear and pull apart the skin. Tear up the seam. If the loofah is fully ripe it will come off easily. If not, then some slamming, crushing, and digging with fingernails may be needed. If peeling large numbers of loofahs it may be a good idea to wear gloves. The skin on your hands can become overly exfoliated and sore after peeling many.

Picture (l) : Apply water pressure from a hose sprayer to remove most of the sap color. It washes out many seeds also. Washing with soapy water in a bucket and then spraying is another option. Squeeze and shake out excess water. If your luffa fiber is very dark, or has many dark spots, soaking in a bucket of water with some chlorine bleach will remove most stains. It doesn't take much bleach, maybe one cup for 3 to 5 gallons of water. Don't bleach any longer than needed. Rinse well. Most loofahs are good with no bleaching. This one was sprayed with water only and then dried.[4]

reference

1.Lee S., Yoo, J. G. Method for preparing transformed luffa cylindrica Roem. World Intellectual Property Organization, (WO/2006/019205), 2006. 2-Badr, E Hegazy,A simple technology for industrial waste water treatement,Journal of Applied Science Research,4(4):397-402,2008,INSInet Publition

3-Jeanine M. Davis,Extension Horticultural Specialist,Department of Horticultural Science,College of Agriculture & Life Sciences,North Carolina State University 4- http://www.luffa.info/luffablooms.htm