Key points of grafting cultivation of balsam pear in greenhouse

Balsam pear, also known as cold gourd, is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae and is an annual climbing herb. Stems, branches, petioles and pedicels pilose, axillary tendrils. Leaves 3 to 12 cm in diameter, 5 to 7 palmately parted, lobes oval, outer margin serrated. Blossoms at the turn of spring and summer, monoecious and yellow. The fruit is long oval, with most irregular tumor-like protuberances on the surface. The seeds are hidden in fleshy fruit and are wrapped in red sacs when ripe. Balsam pear is a favorite vegetable, the origin is not clear, but it is generally believed to be native to the tropics. It is widely cultivated in South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, and the Caribbean Islands.

Botanical history of balsam pear

Balsam pear was not recorded in previous medical books, but it was only included in the Ming Dynasty's "Relief of famine Materia Medica" and "Compendium of Materia Medica". It was suspected that the Sanbao eunuch was transplanted from the Nanyang Islands during his voyage to the West. The Diet Spectrum of living with rest written by Wang Mengying in the Qing Dynasty said: "bitter gourd is bitter cold; heat, clear eyes, clear heart." But the sauce can be pickled. Do not eat those with moderate cold (cold bottom). Ripe red color, taste sweet flat, nourish blood and nourish the liver, moisten the spleen and kidney. " That is to say, the ripe color of melon is yellow, the bitter taste is reduced, the cold is reduced, and the nourishing effect is shown, compared with the last ripe time, Qing is used as supplement. In fact, eating balsam pear is delicious only when the color is green and yellow, and it has the effect of clearing away heat and relieving heat.

Balsam pear tastes bitter, and southerners eat more vegetables. Balsam pear can be eaten in summer and autumn, which can be used as a meal with Momo, only delicious but not bitter. Chinese people in Guangdong use balsam pear slices, sun-dried and stored as medicine, which is used to treat summer colds.

Balsam pear is named for its taste, and the bitter word is not good to hear. Cantonese also call it cold melon (Cantonese is not called cold melon but balsam pear, but later it is called cold melon only after people from other places or mainlanders come to Guangdong). Balsam pear is shaped like a tumor-like process, also known as mangy melon; melon face wrinkles, like litchi, then also known as brocade litchi.

Key points of grafting cultivation of balsam pear in greenhouse

In order to solve the cultivation difficulties of early planting balsam pear, such as low temperature tolerance, late initial melon market, short harvest time and low yield, black seed pumpkin and balsam pear can be grafted and planted in greenhouse at the end of January and fresh melon on the market in mid-March. 90 days earlier than conventional cultivation. Due to the off-season listing, the initial price is higher, and the economic benefit is greatly improved, as follows:

1) Select suitable fine varieties

Balsam pear is a temperature-loving crop, while black-seeded pumpkin is a crop that is extremely tolerant to low temperature and low light, and can still grow normally under the condition of 5 ℃. Grafting balsam pear with black-seeded pumpkin is to make use of the root system of pumpkin to make balsam pear grow normally at a low temperature of about 10 ℃, so that it can be put on the market earlier, increase yield and increase benefit. The rootstocks and varieties selected for grafting are as follows: rootstock varieties mainly select "90Mul" and "Yunnan black seed pumpkin", these two varieties are more tolerant to low temperature and have good grafting affinity; scion varieties are mainly selected "Lanshan Changbai balsam pear" and "89-1", "89-2", "90-1", "90-2" and other balsam pear varieties, which are characterized by long strips, straightness and good marketability.

2) soaking seeds to accelerate germination and sowing seeds at the right time

Seeds were soaked in ① to accelerate germination. Soak the selected balsam pear and black seed pumpkin seeds in hot water of 55-60 ℃ (balsam pear should be carried out 12-2 days in advance). Keep stirring so that the seeds are heated evenly. After soaking for 10-15 minutes, add cold water to reduce the water temperature to about 30 ℃ and continue soaking. After soaking seeds for 8-12 hours, knead the seeds repeatedly, rinse them with warm water, wrap them with coarse gauze, and accelerate germination at 28-30 ℃. Amoy the seeds with 30 ℃ warm water once a day, drain too much water, turn the seeds, increase the air permeability, germinate in 2 days, and about 85% of the seeds can be sown in 3 days.

② sowed seeds in time. Balsam pear seedlings need higher temperature when unearthed, and hot wire hotbed can be used to raise seedlings when sowing. Before raising seedlings, set up the ground according to the need, lay the ground hotline, and install the nutritive soil prepared in advance to sow seeds. The sowing time should be in the early and middle of December, although the temperature is low, but due to the use of electric seedling bed, the seedlings can be unearthed and grow normally. The temperature in the seedling stage is generally controlled at 32 ℃ in the daytime and 22 ℃ at night. Black seed pumpkin was sown 1-2 days later than balsam pear, and the temperature needed for seedling emergence was 30 ℃ in daytime and 18 ℃ at night.