How to Grow Black Beauty Watermelon? Cultivation Techniques and Precautions
Black Beauty watermelon is a variety of watermelon that is relatively large in size, relatively red in color, and relatively crisp and refreshing in taste. Although its market response is not as good as that of Qilin watermelon, it is also welcomed by some people, so growing Black Beauty has gradually become a channel for people to start businesses and become wealthy. So how exactly is Black Beauty watermelon grown?
How to Grow Black Beauty Watermelon
1. Sowing and Raising Seedlings
1. Prepare nutrient soil: Use nutrient cups to raise seedlings. Each mu requires 150-180 kg of nutrient soil. The nutrient soil is made by mixing 70% pond mud, 20% decomposed organic fertilizer, and 10% pure red mud sieved fine. Each bag weighs about 0.5 kg, and 6-7 granules of compound fertilizer are placed in the middle of each nutrient bag. The raw materials for preparing the nutrient soil cannot use soil that has previously grown watermelons.
2. Germination and sowing: Soak the seeds in a 500-fold solution of 50% carbendazim for 30 minutes for disinfection, then soak them in clean water for 4 hours, remove them and germinate until 70% of the seeds have sprouted white, and then sow. When sowing, first drench the nutrient soil thoroughly with a 500-fold solution of carbendazim, place the seeds flat, about 1 cm deep, with the sprouts facing downward. After sowing, cover with nylon film to keep warm and raise seedlings, and keep the nutrient soil moist. Generally, they will emerge 5-7 days after sowing. After emergence, remove the seed shells manually to promote the cotyledons to unfold as quickly as possible.
3. Cultivate strong seedlings: Spray the seedlings once every 7-10 days with a 800-fold solution of 50% dimethoate and a 500-fold solution of 50% carbendazim. When the first true leaf grows, begin watering with decomposed human manure and urine diluted 10 times with water, once every other day. On clear mornings, the film can be opened for hardening off the seedlings, and it should be covered again in the evening. When the seedlings grow to 2-3 true leaves, they can be planted out.
2. Land Preparation and Planting
1. Site selection and land preparation: Choose a sandy plot with sufficient sunlight, convenient drainage and irrigation, and deep, loose soil to build beds for planting. The bed width is 3 m, the ditch width is 0.5 m, and the bed surface is slightly arc-shaped. During land preparation, evenly spread 50 kg of quicklime per mu, which both disinfects and neutralizes soil acidity. Apply 1000-1500 kg of decomposed pig and cow manure, 20-25 kg of superphosphate, 30 kg of compound fertilizer, and 10 kg of potassium sulfate per mu as base fertilizer, put them into the planting holes and mix evenly with the soil.
2. Planting: Transplant when the seedlings grow to 2-3 true leaves, with a plant spacing of 0.5 m and 300-330 plants per mu. After transplanting, use a 500-fold solution of 50% carbendazim as rooting water. Then lay one strip of film on each side of the seedlings on the bed surface, and make the film fit tightly against the bed surface, compacted so that it will not be lifted off.
Black Beauty Watermelon Cultivation Techniques and Precautions
1. Water and Fertilizer Work
In the early stage of Black Beauty watermelon growth, attention should mainly be paid to the application of nitrogen fertilizer, and a small amount of potassium fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer should also be included, in order to promote the rapid growth of the vines. During the flowering period, properly control and reduce the application of nitrogen fertilizer, and increase the application amounts of phosphate fertilizer and potassium fertilizer. The purpose is to improve the fruit-setting rate of the plants. After the plants set watermelon fruit, increase the application amount of nitrogen fertilizer again, in order to rapidly promote watermelon growth. Finally, in the early stage of fruit ripening, attention should be paid to increasing the amount of potassium fertilizer to improve the quality of the fruit. Throughout the entire growth cycle of Black Beauty watermelon, about 20 kg of compound fertilizer per mu is most suitable, 15 kg of urea is appropriate, and about 40 kg of calcium phosphate.
Throughout the entire growth cycle of Black Beauty watermelon, attention should be paid to maintaining sufficient soil moisture. When the vines are extending, keep the soil moist. After fruit setting, ensure that the plant's growing environment has sufficient water available for absorption. However, attention should be paid to drainage, especially the large amount of rainfall caused by typhoons. During the growth cycle, watermelons are prohibited from being soaked in water.
2. Vine Arrangement Work
When Black Beauty watermelon begins to spread vines, pinching should be carried out. Each main vine should retain three or four side vines, and the retention principle is that the side vines grow robustly. After fruit setting, remove some of the side vines that have not set fruit, and appropriately retain some, mainly to ensure the nutrient supply needed for watermelon growth.
3. Pollination and Fruit Retention Work
Pollination of Black Beauty watermelon generally uses artificial pollination. In artificial pollination, it is necessary to ensure that varieties with similar flowering periods are used as pollinating plants. The specific method is that pollination is carried out around ten o'clock at noon. During pollination, it is necessary to ensure that there is no watering or fertilizing work, so as not to affect the fruit-setting rate of the watermelon. When the female flowers are in full bloom and the stigma has the most mucus, collect opened male flowers for comprehensive pollination work, and ensure that the entire stigma is covered with pollen, so as to improve the fruit-setting rate of the plants.
Regarding the issue of retaining fruit on Black Beauty watermelon, we first need to know that the watermelon set by the first female flower on the main vine is not of very good quality, with a flat fruit shape, thicker rind, and easy hollowing, so it should not be retained. The watermelons set by the second and third female flowers on the main vine and those that develop well on side vines should be retained. The principle is to observe the development of the vines; generally, watermelons on vines with good development should be retained.
The Origin of Black Beauty
There are many places of origin for Black Beauty watermelon in our country, and the most famous are Nanning in Guangxi, Hainan, Yinchuan in Ningxia, and Weinan in Shaanxi.
How to Choose Watermelon Better
1. Stripes: A ripe melon has a smooth rind surface, clear patterns, obvious stripes, and a yellow bottom. An unripe melon has fuzz on the surface, dim luster, and unclear spots and stripes.
2. Sound: When flicking the melon with a finger, a “peng peng” sound means it is ripe, a “dang dang” sound means it is not yet ripe, and a “pu pu” sound means it is overripe.
3. Stem: A green stem means a ripe melon. A black-brown stem, shedding fuzz, curved and brittle, with the tip of the tendril turning yellow and withered, means it was picked before it was ripe. A stem that has already dried up is a “dead vine melon.”
4. Head and tail: A good melon has symmetrical ends, a relatively deep depression at the navel and stem end, and fullness all around. If the head is large and the tail is small, or the head is pointed and the tail is thick, then it is a lower-quality melon.
5. Weight: Comparing two watermelons, if they are the same variety and the same size, the lighter one is the more mature melon; conversely, it is less mature, and the heavier the melon, the lower the degree of maturity.
Because Black Beauty has a very wide sales range, the areas where Black Beauty is grown are also gradually expanding, but the most famous are still those old places. However, if you want to choose delicious Black Beauty watermelon on the current market, mastering the selection methods is very important.