Cultivation Techniques for Open-field Watermelon Planting
The editor will discuss open-field watermelon cultivation techniques and guide you on how to cultivate high-yield, sweet green plants. Let's dive into the details together.
Watermelon is one of the most common fruits. When the weather warms up, a large number of watermelons are sold in the market. Watermelons are rich in various vitamins and trace elements, have a sweet and juicy taste, can quench thirst and reduce heat, and are very popular in hot summers, beloved by the general public. After learning about the benefits of watermelons, do you want to know how they are cultivated in open fields? Planting watermelons mainly involves environmental requirements, seed treatment, seedling raising, land selection and tillage, transplanting and planting, artificial technical management, and harvesting. Below, the editor will analyze the entire process of cultivating watermelons:
1. Environmental requirements: Watermelons are a type of climbing plant that prefers warmth and dislikes the cold. They can be planted in any type of soil, whether it's black soil, yellow soil, or fertile soil, as long as it is well-drained and not waterlogged. The optimal temperature for watermelon growth is between 20°C and 32°C. Growth slows down above 35°C or below 12°C, and damage occurs below 5°C or above 42°C. For sunlight, they require more than 10 hours of exposure daily. Insufficient sunlight affects the quality and yield of the fruit. In terms of water, less is needed during the seedling stage, but a large amount is required during fruit growth, maintaining soil moisture between 65% and 85%. Watermelons have high yields and require more fertilizer than other crops, usually with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as the main elements. Therefore, when planting watermelons, it is essential to cultivate based on the local environmental temperature.
2. Seed treatment: There are many varieties of watermelons, and the weight of the seeds varies. For direct sowing, about 150 grams of seeds are needed per mu, while for seedling transplanting, slightly less, about 100 grams. Choose a suitable variety and handle the seeds simply. Before sowing,晒 seeds for a few hours to sterilize, soak them in 50°C water for half an hour, stir well, then transfer to 30°C water and soak for 7 hours to allow the seeds to absorb water before sowing.
3. Seedling raising: Sowing can be direct or through seedling transplantation. Direct sowing is done around Qingming (清明), and most people choose the seedling raising method. In the southern regions, seedling raising starts in mid-December, and the seedlings can be transplanted after about a month, with harvest in late April or May. In the northern regions, with lower temperatures, seedling raising depends on the temperature. Watermelon seedlings are usually raised in small plastic tunnel greenhouses with bacteria-free and disease-free soil, mixed with a moderate amount of decomposed manure, and then the soil is filled into seedling cups. Water the nutrient soil thoroughly, place two seeds per cup, and cover with two centimeters of soil. Keep the film covered to maintain temperature and humidity, controlling the temperature between 20°C and 28°C during the seedling period, which lasts 25-30 days. When the watermelon plants reach a height of 10 centimeters, they can be transplanted.
4. Land selection and tillage: It is best to choose fields that have not been planted with melon crops in the past two years, with loose, well-drained sandy loam or loam soil. After the autumn harvest, it is best to deeply plow and expose the soil to the sun before winter to kill bacteria and pests, improve soil aeration, looseness, and fertility. One week before planting, finely till the land again, applying 1000 kilograms of decomposed manure, 25 kilograms of superphosphate, and 50 kilograms of cake fertilizer per mu, evenly broadcasting it across the field. Use machinery to mix the soil and fertilizer evenly and form convex ridges, with each ridge 50 centimeters wide, 25 centimeters deep, and the length depending on the field layout, leaving an 80-centimeter path between ridges.
Open-field watermelon planting cultivation technique
5. Transplanting and planting: Apply a herbicide before planting to prevent weeds from growing on the surface. Planting is usually done in holes, 10 centimeters deep. If the soil is dry, water it until it is moist before planting, or water after planting. Handle the seedlings gently, keeping the roots and soil intact, planting one seedling per hole, with 50 centimeters between each plant. You can plant 800 watermelon plants per mu. Cover the soil and gently press it down. The suitable temperature for planting is above 15°C. If the temperature is low after planting, cover the seedlings with a plastic arch until the temperature rises to a suitable growth temperature, at which point the plastic can be removed. In dry weather, water the seedlings every other day, and in rainy weather, ensure good drainage to prevent waterlogging. After a week, the seedlings are stable and enter the technical management phase.
6. Technical management: Watermelon management includes water and fertilizer management, pruning, vine pressing, and pest and disease control, briefly analyzed as follows; ① Water and fertilizer management: Watermelons require important water and fertilizer management. Topdressing is usually done in three stages: seedling fertilizer, flowering fertilizer, and fruit-setting fertilizer. Seedling fertilizer is usually urea-based, using 10 kilograms per mu, combined with water or animal dung urine. The second stage is the flowering fertilizer, using 10 kilograms of urea and 10 kilograms of compound fertilizer per mu. The third stage is the fruit-setting fertilizer, usually with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, supplemented with nitrogen fertilizer to promote fruit growth, using 15 kilograms of potassium dihydrogen phosphate and 15 kilograms of compound fertilizer or 5 kilograms of urea per mu, mixed and applied in holes, then covered. Be careful not to let the fertilizer touch the rootstock to avoid fertilizer damage. Watermelons require a large amount of water during the fruit-setting stage, maintaining soil moisture at 80%, and watering once a day during dry weather.
② Pruning: When the main vines reach 60 centimeters in length, before fruiting, prune the vines, leaving only two main vines per plant and removing the excess lateral branches. Each vine is left with 1-2 fruits, and pruning is done every few days to ensure fruit expansion and improve yield and quality.
③ Vine pressing: During watermelon management, vines can be pressed to increase nutrient supply and promote growth, allowing the vines to absorb nutrients more effectively and benefit fruit setting. Pressing involves covering the vines with soil every 35 centimeters or so, making sure not to cover the leaves or break the stems.
④ Pest and disease control: The main diseases of watermelons include wilt, anthracnose, viral disease, gummy stem blight, and sclerotinia rot, while the main pests include melon aphids, thrips, and aphids. There are many pesticides available for control, such as carbendazim, chlorothalonil, and diazotrophos for diseases, and dichlorvos, trichlorfon, and imidacloprid for pests. When using pesticides, follow the instructions for proper proportions. In fact, the occurrence of pests and diseases is greatly related to personal management. With careful management at each step, pests and diseases are rare, making management the most critical aspect.