Tips for watermelon cultivation
1、 Make the root vine stronger
1. Root cutting: when the 4 ~ 5
true leaves of watermelon have not creeping growth, the spade can be
used to insert directly 13 cm away from the root of watermelon, or
plough deeply, but the main root cannot be damaged. The main purpose is
to cut off the lateral roots. When watermelon enters the stage of vine
extension, the lateral roots will be cut off to make fibrous roots grow
healthily and form a huge root system. Although the extension of vine
was inhibited, it prevented the overgrowth and slender of melon and
vine, and laid a good foundation for flowering and fruiting.
2.
Adverse pressure: watermelon growth is too strong, the use of reverse
pressure. Dig a 7-10 cm deep pit and push the melon vine toward the root
of the pit. It can control the vigorous length and increase the fruit
setting rate by arching the vine at the back, then filling it with soil
and compacting it.
3. Rattan holding: when the
second or third female flower appears, in order to make it sit and grow
large, it can be used. Use two pieces of wood about 7cm in oil pan to
fry the edge. Hold the rattan on a finger high above the ground, flatten
the vascular bundles continuously with the rattan, and do not hurt the
skin and bones.
4. Lift the stem: if you want the
young melon to sit stably, lift it vigorously on the vine behind the
young melon, and you will hear a "click". "There's a crackle in the back
and melons in the front."
5. Pinching the tip of
the head: when the watermelon enters the expansion stage, the vine in
front of the melon should be properly restrained, and the vigorous
growth of the watermelon should not be allowed, otherwise, the nutrition
will be wasted and the melon expansion will be affected. Pan tou
pinching is to pull back the vines in front of the melon, circle it on
the side of the watermelon, and pinch the tip of the rattan.
2、 Make the shape and color of melon better
Turn
melon, vertical melon, shady melon: turned watermelon has no Yin and
Yang, the whole color is the same, sugar content is even, avoid insect
bite, improve commodity. Turning melon should move along the vascular
bundle on the fruit stalk, and should not be forced to twist. On a sunny
afternoon, hold the fruit tail with one hand and the top of the fruit
with the other hand, gently twist, turning 3-7 cm at a time. Every other
day, 3-4 times. It can also be turned every 7-8 days, 2-3 times. Turn
melon along the same direction, turning angle should not be too large.
Vertical melon is to erect the fruit a few days before harvest, which is
conducive to round fruit shape and good coloring of melon skin. Shady
melon is covered with grass on the surface of melon. The hot sun in
summer makes it easy to burn. Cover the melon with grass to avoid direct
exposure to the sun.
3、 Maturity discrimination and harvest
The
key of watermelon harvest is to master the maturity accurately. Timely
picking, so that the highest sugar content of watermelon, the best
taste. The quality of watermelon will be affected by over ripening and
over ripening, which is a matter of great concern to producers,
operators and consumers. The maturity of watermelon can be judged by the
following methods.
1. Calculation method. The days
after flowering or accumulated temperature were calculated. Under
certain climatic conditions, the days from female flower opening to
fruit ripening are basically fixed, and the accumulated temperature
required is the same. It takes 25-26 days for super early maturing
varieties and 700 ℃ for accumulated temperature from flowering to
maturity; 800-900 ℃ for 30-35 days for early and middle maturing
varieties; 1000 ℃ for over 40 days for late maturing varieties. The
accumulated temperature can be calculated by adding up the daily average
temperature, or by multiplying the daily average temperature by the
number of days with meteorological data. The higher the daily average
temperature, the less days from flowering to maturity. The number of
days required for ripening of melons grown at different times on the
same watermelon plant was also different.
2. Visual
inspection. Look at the fruit appearance and bristle tendrils. The
fruit surface showed the inherent skin color, reticulate or stripe
morphological characteristics. The mature melon has clear veins, deep
and light, slightly contracted base of fruit stalk, inward depression of
navel, and yellowing of landing position; under normal conditions of
plant growth, the tendrils of fruit setting node and before and after
withered, and the bristles of fruit stalk were sparse, indicating that
the fruit was mature.
3. Hand measurement. Flick
the melon with your fingers or pat and touch the melon with your palm.
It is a ripe melon that has voiced sound. It's called "raw melon". When
touching the rind with your hand, the ripe melon is slippery, and the
raw one is astringent. One hand holds the melon, and the other hand
gently taps on the melon. If the palm of the holding melon slightly
vibrates and the melon emits a thumping murmur, it is a ripe melon. If
the hand holding the melon does not feel shaking and makes a clattering
sound, it belongs to raw melon. Squeeze both ends of the fruit with both
hands at the same time, and put it in the ear to listen. If there is a
hissing sound of cracking, it is a ripe melon. The weight of raw
watermelon is heavier than that of mature watermelon, and that of over
ripe watermelon is lighter than that of mature watermelon. For those who
have experience, the identification method of "over hand holding melon"
can be used, that is, the watermelon with better maturity is the one
with slightly lighter weight when holding the second-hand melon.
The
maturity of watermelon harvest should also be determined according to
the market situation. 90% of mature melons can be harvested in the
morning of the same day, and 70% of mature melons can be harvested from
distant markets to make them continue to mature during transportation.
When harvesting, cut off the fruit stalk with sickle or scissors to
avoid damaging the vine and affecting the growth of the back face melon.