‘Zaoguansigua 408’ is a loofah gourd F₁ hybrid developed by crossing ‘S4’ as female parent
with‘ X08’ as male parent．This variety is of extremely early maturity．It takes about 60-62 days from sowing
to harvesting．The plant is rampant with strong growth potential and branching ability．The first female flower
grows on the 5-8 knob of the main vine．The fruit is of long cylindrical shape，the apex is round，and the peel
is green in color．Its single fruit weight is 0.4-0.8 kg．The fruit is 40-49 cm in longitudinal diameter and 3.8-
4.1 cm in transverse diameter．It can yield 16.5 t · hm^-2 at earlier stage and its yield of whole stages can reach
48.0 t · hm-2．Its resistance to powdery mildew，downy mildew，and Phytophthora blight are better than that
of the contrast‘ Yahuazaosigua’．It is suitable for cultivation in early spring greenhouses and open fields in the
Yangtze River Basin and Hunan Province．