Detailed Guide to Greenhouse Cultivation Methods for Muskmelon
I. Variety Selection and Raising Strong Seedlings
For variety selection, it is advisable to choose varieties such as Zhuangyuan, Honey World, Elizabeth, Luhoutian No. 1, Luhoutian No. 3, and Yinling.
Raising Strong Seedlings
1. Sowing Period The suitable sowing period for solar greenhouses is from early December to late January, and the planting period is from mid-January to late February. The sowing period for arched plastic tunnel greenhouses is from early February to late February, and the planting period is from early March to late March.
2. Seed Soaking and Germination Promotion Place the seeds in a container of warm water at 55-60°C, stir so that the water temperature drops to about 30°C, soak the seeds for 3 hours, then take them out and disinfect them with a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution for 20 minutes, rinse clean with water, wrap them in a damp cloth, and germinate them at 28-30°C. Sow after the seeds have sprouted.
3. Seedling Facilities Electric heating beds and similar must be used for raising seedlings. The heated bed can be made inside a greenhouse with good insulation or converted from a cold frame. For electric heating beds, the electric heating wire power should reach 100-120 watts per square meter; for flue-heated beds, pay attention to uniform temperature in all parts of the seedbed; for fermentation-heated beds, the fermentation material thickness should reach 30-40 centimeters.
4. Nutrient Soil Preparation Use 6 parts field soil free of pathogens and add 4 parts fully decomposed barnyard manure to make the culture soil. Then add to each cubic meter of culture soil 1 kilogram of superphosphate, 1.5-2 kilograms of diammonium phosphate, 80 grams of carbendazim, 80 grams of thiophanate-methyl (or dexon), and 60 grams of trichlorfon, mix thoroughly, cover with film, and let it ferment for 10-15 days. Then fill it into seedling pots, or spread it directly on the seedbed to raise seedlings in nutrient soil blocks.
5. Sowing 4-5 days before sowing, arrange the nutrient pots on the seedbed, water them thoroughly, then cover with plastic film, add a small arched tunnel on top, and begin heating in advance. Sow only when the soil temperature is stable above 15°C. Sow 1 germinated seed per nutrient pot or nutrient soil block, with a covering soil thickness of 1-1.5 centimeters.
6. Seedling Stage Management After sowing, cover with plastic film to keep warm, cover the seedbed with a small arched tunnel, and remove the plastic film after emergence. For temperature management during the seedling stage, before emergence keep the daytime bed temperature at 28-32°C and the nighttime at 17-20°C, and keep the small arched tunnel and plastic film tightly covered. After emergence, lower the daytime bed temperature to 22-25°C and the nighttime to 15-17°C. During other periods, keep the daytime bed temperature at 17-19°C. During the seedling stage, keep the soil temperature at 13-25°C. After emergence, the small arched tunnel can be covered only at night, and dry soil or plant ash can be scattered to control seedbed humidity. If damping-off occurs, spray or drench the roots with 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, or 64% Sandofan M8, 65% amobam powder, 50% thiophanate-methyl, or 50% carbendazim powder at 500 times dilution. If mole crickets, cutworms, and similar pests cause damage, promptly scatter poisoned bait; you can use 40% phoxim at 50 times dilution mixed with roasted fragrant wheat bran and spot-scatter it around the seedbed.
II. Planting Methods
1. Planting Period The suitable seedling age for muskmelon raised in heated beds is 30-35 days, with 1 true leaf and 1 heart leaf. At planting, the 10-centimeter soil temperature inside the facility should be stable at 15°C.
2. Land Preparation, Base Fertilizer Application, and Ridge Making 10-15 days before planting, water the greenhouse to create soil moisture, plow deeply, harrow finely, and level. Straw mats should be uncovered by day and covered at night to increase the temperature inside the greenhouse. In combination with land preparation, apply per 667 square meters 5-6 cubic meters of decomposed barnyard manure, 2000 kilograms of decomposed chicken manure, 50 kilograms of superphosphate, and 80 kilograms of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer (or 50 kilograms of diammonium phosphate and 30 kilograms of potassium sulfate). Make saddle-shaped ridges with uneven row spacing: small row spacing 60-70 centimeters and large row spacing 80-90 centimeters. The wide ridge furrow should be deep, and the narrow ridge furrow should be shallow. The height from the base to the surface of the wide ridge is 25-30 centimeters, and the height from the base to the surface of the narrow ridge is 15 centimeters. For greenhouses or tunnels whose previous crop was cucurbit vegetables, apply 1.5 kilograms of dexon per 677 square meters at the ridge base for soil disinfection.
3. Planting Planting should preferably be done on a sunny morning. Open furrows on the ridges, water first, then plant seedlings at a spacing of 45-55 centimeters, cover with soil, and plant at a depth that does not bury the cotyledons. For large-fruit varieties, plant 1500-1800 plants per 667 square meters; for small-fruit varieties, plant about 2000 plants per 667 square meters. After planting, cover tightly with plastic film to help increase the air and soil temperature inside the greenhouse.
III. Temperature Management and Pruning and Vine Hanging
Temperature Management After planting, through uncovering and covering straw mats and keeping the film tightly closed, maintain the daytime air temperature inside the greenhouse at about 30°C and the nighttime at 17-20°C to help the seedlings recover. Before flowering and fruit set, keep the daytime temperature inside the greenhouse at 25-28°C and the nighttime at 15-18°C. When the temperature inside the greenhouse exceeds 30°C, ventilate. After fruit set, keep the daytime temperature inside the greenhouse at 28-32°C, not exceeding 35°C, and the nighttime at 15-18°C, maintaining a day-night temperature difference above 13°C. At the same time, sufficient light is required to help fruit enlargement and sugar accumulation.
Pruning and Vine Hanging For muskmelon cultivation in solar greenhouses and tunnels, pruning should be strictly carried out and vine-hanging cultivation adopted. When the seedlings grow to 4-5 true leaves, pinch the growing point and select 1 strong lateral vine to grow, removing the other lateral vines; for varieties whose lateral vines set fruit more easily, pinching may also be omitted. The vines can be guided with nylon rope or hemp rope, winding the stems around the rope, and removing the remaining lateral vines in time. For muskmelon cultivation, most varieties use single-vine pruning, and small-fruit varieties may also use double-vine pruning.
IV. After planting until vines extend, watering should be controlled
At the vine extension stage, apply 1 topdressing of quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer and appropriately apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Apply per 667 square meters 15 kilograms of urea, 10 kilograms of diammonium phosphate, and 5 kilograms of potassium sulfate, and water immediately after fertilizing. Around one week before and after flowering, watering should be controlled to prevent excessive plant growth from affecting fruit set. After planting, when entering the fruit enlargement stage, apply per 667 square meters 10 kilograms of potassium sulfate and 20-30 kilograms of diammonium phosphate, applying them with irrigation water. After this fertilizer and water application, water heavily again after 7-10 days, and do not water again from 10-15 days before harvest. When keeping fruit in two layers, apply a third topdressing during the enlargement stage of the upper-layer fruit, applying per 667 square meters 15-20 kilograms of potassium sulfate and 15-20 kilograms of diammonium phosphate. In addition to quick-acting chemical fertilizers, decomposed chicken manure can also be applied with irrigation water during the fruit enlargement stage, 300 kilograms per 667 square meters, or 100 kilograms of decomposed soybean cake. During the growing period, foliar spray can be applied 2-3 times with 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate or photosynthetic micro-fertilizer, etc.
V. Artificial Pollination In muskmelon production, there are different fruit-keeping methods such as single-layer fruit keeping and double-layer fruit keeping. Single-layer fruit keeping is keeping fruit at nodes 12-15 of the stem vine; double-layer fruit keeping is keeping one fruit each at nodes 12-15 and nodes 22-25 of the stem vine. When the female flowers at the reserved nodes open, from 9-11 a.m., take male flowers that open the same day, remove the petals, and gently smear the pollen of the male flowers onto the stigma of the pistil. Pollinate 2-3 nodes per plant.
VI. Fruit Selection and Fruit Hanging
When the young fruit grows to the size of a walnut to an egg, the fruit should be selected and kept, that is, fruit setting by selection. Generally, for small-fruit varieties (referring to varieties with a single fruit weight less than 0.75 kilograms), keep 1 fruit on each of the two vines per plant, while for large-fruit varieties (varieties with a single fruit weight exceeding 0.75 kilograms), keep only 1 fruit per plant. The principle and order for keeping fruit is to choose from the 2-3 fruits that have set: 1) well-formed fruit shape, not deformed, conforming to the characteristics of the variety; 2) fast growth and development, and when fruit sizes are similar, keep the fruit that was pollinated later; 3) moderate node position.
When the young fruit grows to about 250 grams, hang the fruit in time. Tie a thin hemp rope with a slip knot to the part of the fruit stalk close to the fruit, hang the rope on the wire above, and hang the fruit to a position level with the fruit-bearing node.