Do watermelon seedlings need to be pinched off?

Whenever we enter the hot summer, we will think of eating watermelon, which has sweet flesh and rich fruit juice, which can cool down and relieve the heat. So, did you know that watermelon seedlings need to be pinched off in the process of watermelon planting?

Do watermelon seedlings need to be pinched off?

Watermelon seedlings need to be pinched off at the right time. When the watermelon enters the expansion period, it is necessary to properly inhibit the melon seedlings, do not make its exuberant growth, otherwise it will lose nutrients and affect the melon expansion. The specific operation is to pull the melon seedlings back, circle next to the watermelon, and casually pinch off the rattan head.

What are the cultivation techniques of watermelon?

1. Select a place

The sandy loam with deep soil layer, loose and fertile soil and convenient drainage and irrigation should be selected and cultivated in the fields where melon crops have not been planted in dry land within 5 years and paddy field within 3 years.

two。 Soil preparation and fertilization

The melon field is deeply ploughed and frozen before winter, and the soil is prepared in time before transplanting. Melon fields should be matched with three ditches, so that the rain stops the field is dry, the soil is loose and the soil is flat. Base fertilizer is based on high-quality organic fertilizer and cake fertilizer, supplemented by inorganic fertilizer, which generally accounts for 60% of the total fertilizer application, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium should be matched reasonably, and micro-fertilizer should be applied or sprayed respectively according to the lack of elements. The use of high border planting, wide border 4-4.5 meters, narrow border 2.0-2.5 meters. The wide border can be planted on both sides of the border, the melon vine can be crawled on both sides, and the narrow border can be planted on one side on one side.

3. Colonization

The seedling age of precocious watermelon is about 1 month and can be planted with 2-3 true leaves. The seedling age of medium-maturing watermelon is 20-25 days, and that of late-ripening watermelon is 7-10 days. 2 rows of wide border planting and 1 row of narrow border planting. Small fruit type watermelon stand cultivation, planting 1500-1800 plants per mu, climbing cultivation, using three or four vines pruning, 600-750plants per mu. Medium and large watermelons are generally planted 650-700 plants per mu and grafted seedless watermelons 300-400 plants per mu. Cover the film while transplanting, the width of the film is not less than 80 cm, the film should be fine and flat, the film and the surface should be tightly sealed, and the broken film should be sealed with fine soil.

4. Pruning and pressing vine

The method of three-vine pruning is generally used. In the 8-9 leaves of the main vine, leave the main vine and two strong lateral vines, and remove the rest of the son vine and grandson vine. Pruning should not be carried out in overcast and rainy days to prevent the spread of diseases. When the vine grows to about 50 cm, press the vine with soil combined with pruning, then press it again at intervals of 3-4 nodes, and press each vine for 2-3 times to evenly arrange the melon vine.

5. Sitting melon

The 2nd and 3rd female flowers on the main vine or the 1st and 2nd female flowers on the lateral vine should be selected. In order to ensure that the melon is seated at a suitable position, artificial pollination should be used in case of low temperature or cloudy and rainy weather to protect flowers and fruits. After the melon is seated, flatten the ground under the young melon and make it into a slope, then place the young melon along the slope and put the young melon and vine in a straight line. The fruit should be turned in time when the fruit is fully grown. Turn the melon in one direction, about 3 at a time.

6. Topdressing

When the young melon grows to the size of an egg, according to the growth of the plant, 45% nitro-sulfur or potassium sulfate type controlled-release fertilizer 15-20 kg is applied per mu.

7. Moisture content

After setting fruit, adequate water supply should be ensured. The fruit should not be watered 7-10 days before harvest, so that the fruit can accumulate sugar.

8. Harvest

Harvesting should be carried out in the morning. In general, early-maturing varieties are harvested about 30 days after pollination, mid-maturing varieties about 35 days, and late-maturing varieties about 40 days. The speed of fruit ripening is affected by temperature, light intensity and time, so it is best to indicate the date during pollination, and sample melon is expected to cut open the fruit when it is ripe, measure its sugar content and taste it, and harvest it in batches according to the mark after confirmation of maturity.

The pinching of watermelon seedlings is beneficial to improve the quality of the fruit, but it should also be determined according to the actual situation, if there are not many branches on a vine, it is not necessary.