Cultivation Techniques of Wax Gourd in Greenhouse in Early Spring

Wax gourd (scientific name: Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn.) is an annual herb with tendrils on the stem, climbing vines, large leaves and yellow flowers. The fruit is spherical or long cylindrical, hairy and powdered on the surface, and the skin is dark green or light green, which is a common vegetable.

Growth habits of wax gourd

Wax gourd stems have hairs; leaves slightly palmately lobed, surface hairy; yellow flowers; round, oblate or oblong fruits, the size varies from variety to tens of jin; wax gourd peel is green, most varieties of ripe fruit have white powder, thick and loose succulent white pulp, light flavor; white flat seeds, some with narrow wing-shaped edges.

When the melon is tender, it is green and hairy, and when ripe, it is bluish, the skin is thick and powdery, and the melon meat is fat and white. Melon pulp is called melon training, as white and loose as catkins, can be used to wash clothes. The seeds in the flesh are called melon rhinoceros, which are arranged and grow. It matures in the winter moon, so it is called wax gourd. When the wax gourd is picked after the frost, the flesh can be steamed or honey can be added to make preserved fruit; seeds can also be eaten. It can be used as both vegetables and fruits. Melons harvested should avoid contact with wine, paint, musk and glutinous rice, otherwise they will rot.

Cultivation techniques of wax gourd in greenhouse in early spring

1. Seedling raising: short vine type early maturing varieties should be selected for winter gourd production in early spring, and seedlings should be raised in the first and middle of December. The temperature of raising seedlings was 25-28 ℃ in daytime and 13-15 ℃ at night. If you can't reach this temperature, you can use a hotline or water stove to heat it up. In order to ensure the whole root colonization, a nutritious soil block of 9 cm × 9 cm is required to raise seedlings. The planting reached the seedling age of 50 days, the leaves showed 5 signs, the stem diameter was more than 5 mm, and the plant height was 18 cm.

Second, planting: the planting time is in the middle and last ten days of February, and the soil should be prepared before planting. Open the ditch according to the equal row spacing of 70 cm, choose fine weather, set up the seedlings along the ditch and then water them. After the water is finished, the ridge is sealed into a single ridge with a height of 15 cm and a width of 25 cm. The suitable planting density is about 2500 plants per mu.

Third, the management after planting: wax gourd must be planted in solar greenhouse. When setting up a frame, it is required to build a flat frame in the shape of a "door" with bamboo poles or wooden sticks, with a height of about 80 centimeters, with wooden poles or small bamboo poles holding it firmly. Beat off the branches outside the main vine in time, leaving 1 main vine. When introducing the vine on the shelf, let the melon vine cross on the shelf on the ground, that is, a row of melon vine on the shelf when climbing to the second row on the ground, and the second row on the shelf when the ground climbs to the first row, so that the sitting part of the melon is just on the opposite ridge of cultivation, which is neat and easy to manage. It is necessary to prune regularly to prevent multi-headed disorderly seedlings and maintain the advantage of the main vine. Before setting melon, the temperature should be managed properly, 28-30 ℃ in daytime and 13-15 ℃ at night.

When wax gourd is produced in solar greenhouse in early spring, the second melon embryo is generally left at the 10th-12th leaves. During the normal growth, the opening position of the female flower is just on the ridge of cultivation. Double treatment measures of hormone and artificial pollination should be adopted after flowering in order to ensure stable fruit setting, fast growth after fruit setting and early listing. In the greenhouse, the air humidity is high and the temperature is high. After the flowers bloom, the anther disperses powder slowly. Therefore, after the second melon female flower blossoms, the stalk of the second melon embryo is wiped at 8-9 a.m., the anther cracks and begins to disperse pollination after 10:00, artificial pollination is carried out around 11:00, only one fruit is pollinated per tree, and the rest should be removed in time. After fruit setting, the temperature of 30-32 ℃ in daytime and 15-18 ℃ at night is suitable.

After sitting on the wax gourd, if the water and fertilizer is timely, it will be on the market in 25-28 days. About 50 grams of young melons (such as large eggs) should be watered and fertilized in time, 25 kilograms of urea per mu should be applied when watering, and every 8-10 days choose sunny weather to water and top fertilize again. Prevent flooding when watering, lest flooding young melons cause melons. Increase the amount of air release after watering to prevent excessive air humidity and cause diseases. During the expanding period, the temperature should be 30-35 ℃ in daytime and 15-18 ℃ at night. In order to reduce nutrition consumption, the lower old leaves should be knocked out in time.

When the first melon is harvested in late April, strengthening water management can promote continuous melon fruiting.

The appearance and quality of wax gourd will be seriously affected after cracking. In addition, cracked melon will also cause bacteria to invade and propagate in the melon, resulting in local deterioration or decay of wax gourd, which is very disadvantageous to storage and sales, and brings economic losses to vegetable farmers. Here are several effective measures to prevent wax gourd cracking:

Selection of crack-resistant varieties by ⑴

⑵ is cultivated in rainy areas or rainy seasons by means of deep furrow and high border or ridging.

⑶ increases the application of organic fertilizer, increases soil water permeability and water retention, makes soil water supply evenly, promotes the healthy growth of plants, and pruning in time to make the fruit develop normally.

The pericarp at the top and on the ground of ⑷ fruit is thick, and the parietal cell layer is less, which can be flipped in cultivation to promote fruit development and prevent melon cracking. If necessary, 0.1% zinc sulfate or copper sulfate solution is sprayed during the fruit expansion period to improve its heat resistance and crack resistance.

⑸ sprayed gibberellin solution after petal shedding, once every 7 days, even 2-3 times, can also prevent melon cracking.