When to plant watermelon
Lifestyle knowledge series: An introduction to when to plant watermelon and the planting methods and management of watermelon, which is a very useful piece of knowledge. It is recommended to save it for future reference!
Autumn watermelon usually refers to the watermelon planted in summer and harvested in autumn for the market, which belongs to off-season cultivation. The maturity period of autumn watermelon is mainly arranged around the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, with a concentrated market launch, good sales, high prices, and considerable economic benefits.
1. Sowing period
Due to the short growth period of autumn watermelon and the tight rotation of the previous crop, we usually adopt the seedling transplantation method. The determination of the sowing period should take into account factors such as the characteristics of the watermelon variety and the supply period of maturity. If sowing too early, it is prone to high-temperature damage to seedlings or even seedling death. However, if sowing too late, late-stage low temperatures can lead to slow growth, affecting yield and sales, and even the fruit may not ripen.
For early-maturing watermelon varieties, sowing usually takes place in mid-July, while for mid-maturing varieties, sowing is in early July. Sowing at this time allows the fruit expansion period to occur in September, with large day-night temperature differences, which is conducive to the accumulation of sugar in the fruit and improves the quality of watermelon.
2. Selection of melon fields
Continuous cropping of autumn watermelon can easily cause wilt disease. It is necessary to choose a plot with fertile soil, high and dry terrain, loose soil texture, convenient irrigation and drainage, and no planting of melon crops in recent years. It is strictly forbidden to choose waterlogging or waterlogged areas.
3. Land preparation and fertilization
Deeply plow the previous crop field, open ditches, apply 1000-1500 kilograms of decomposed manure and 45-50 kilograms of compound fertilizer (N, P, K) per mu, and then level the ridge surface. Generally, the ridge height should be more than 20 centimeters, with a ridge width of 2.6-2.8 meters, and deep ditches should be dug around for quick drainage after rain.
4. Fertilization management
Watermelon requires a large amount of fertilizer, has a long growth period, and it is difficult to supplement fertilizer in the later stage. Therefore, sufficient application of base fertilizer is an important part of achieving high yield, stable yield, and good quality of watermelon. Apply general fertilizer during land preparation, apply concentrated fertilizer in ditches, apply 2000-2500 kilograms of soil manure, 30-40 kilograms of superphosphate, and 15-20 kilograms of potassium fertilizer per mu, pile and decompose, spread into the soil, and then rake evenly.
The first topdressing of autumn watermelon is at the five-leaf stage, applying 10-15 kilograms of compound fertilizer per mu to promote plant growth and rapid vine extension. The second topdressing of watermelon is within one week after flowering, applying 10-15 kilograms of urea and 8-10 kilograms of potassium fertilizer per mu to promote rapid fruit expansion.
5. Reasonable pruning
When the main vine of watermelon has 4-5 leaves, pinch the top, and when the lateral vines are about 15 centimeters long, select 2-3 lateral vines with good growth, remove the rest of the lateral vines and the granddaughter vines before the fruiting node, and appropriately retain the granddaughter vines after the fruiting node. We can also adopt the 1 main, 2 lateral, 3 vine pruning method, that is, retain 1 main vine and 2 lateral vines, remove the rest of the lateral vines when the first female flower on the main vine opens, and remove the granddaughter vines before the lateral vines set fruit.
6. Artificial pollination
We should select the female flowers that open at the node, and assist in pollination manually between 7-9 am. Choose the male flowers that open on the same day, remove the petals, and evenly apply the pollen from the male flowers to the stigma of the female flowers, ensuring a sufficient amount of pollination, usually pollinating 2-3 female flowers with one male flower. After pollination, we immediately mark the pollination date on the pollination node.
7. Timely harvest
When the expansion of the watermelon fruit slows down or stops, the stripes and net spots on the fruit surface become distinct, and the fruit makes a "thump, thump" sound when tapped with a finger, indicating that the watermelon is ripe and should be harvested and brought to market in a timely manner.
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