Off-season Pollution-free Cultivation Techniques for Muskmelon

1. Variety Selection Choose early-to-mid-maturing varieties, such as Elizabeth and Western Shipping and other excellent muskmelon varieties. These varieties have good flavor, wide adaptability, and strong stress resistance, and generally can achieve a yield of 1500-2000 kg per mu.

2. Seedling Raising Choose a field with higher terrain and loose, fertile soil as the seedbed. In late November, use electric heating wires and a hotbed in a greenhouse to raise seedlings. Use garden soil for the pot soil. For 1 mu of field, 500 kg of nutrient soil plus 2 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer, 2 kg of superphosphate, and 50-100 kg of organic fertilizer are needed. Mix the soil and fertilizer evenly. Use plastic pots of 8 cm × 10 cm, fill each with 0.5 kg of nutrient soil, and press firmly. Level the bed surface, lay the electric heating wires at a spacing of 10 cm, install a 50 degrees C thermostat, and place the pots tightly on the electric heating wires. Soak the seeds before sowing to promote germination. Sow 1 seed per pot, cover with 1 cm of moist fine soil mixed with mancozeb, lay plastic film flat, and cover with a small arch shed. Before emergence, keep the bed temperature at 28-30 degrees C. Once 70% of the seeds have emerged, remove the plastic film and keep the bed temperature at 11-20 degrees C. After the seedlings grow true leaves, remove the small arch shed. Keep the bed temperature at 28-30 degrees C during the day and 15-18 degrees C at night. Harden the seedlings 5-7 days before transplanting.

3. Planting Choose sandy loam soil with no pollution sources within 3 kilometers around the planting area, excellent irrigation water quality, and a low groundwater table. Plant in late December. Build the greenhouse 1-2 months before planting, plow 1-2 times, and apply 2000 kg of organic fertilizer, 100 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer, and 25 kg of ammonium phosphate per mu, then turn and mix evenly. Dig holes for transplanting, with a plant spacing of 30-35 cm and a density of 600-700 plants per mu. Water thoroughly to help the plants establish, lay plastic film flat, set up small sheds, small-medium sheds, and medium sheds, and cover with film.

4. Field Management Keep the greenhouse closed for 1 week after planting. After the transplanted plants have established, ventilate to reduce moisture. Keep the greenhouse temperature at about 28 during the day and above 15% at night. During the expansion period, keep it at 30-35 degrees C during the day and 15-18 degrees C at night, with a day-night temperature difference of more than 13 degrees C. During the vine extension period, apply 15 kg of urea per mu. When the melons are the size of eggs, apply 50 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per mu, and after that apply fertilizer once for each batch of melons set. Pinch the growing point when the melon seedlings have three leaves and one heart. When the primary vines extend to 15 cm, keep two strong branches and remove the rest of the primary vines. Generally, each primary vine keeps 2-3 secondary vines. Pinch the primary vine at the 20th node. After the secondary vine sets fruit, leave 1 leaf and pinch. Remove diseased melons, deformed melons, and cracked melons 5-10 days after fruit set, and keep long oval melons.

5. Pest and Disease Control The main pests and diseases of muskmelon include anthracnose, damping-off, powdery mildew, downy mildew, cutworms, snails, and so on. For control, follow the principle of “prevention first, integrated control” and adhere to “agricultural control, biological control, and physical control as the main methods, with chemical control as supplementary.” However, note that chemical pesticides are prohibited within 20 days before melon harvest.

6. Harvest When the melon has the characteristics of the variety, the fuzz near the fruit stalk has fallen off, the top of the melon is soft, and the leaves at the fruiting node have withered and turned yellow, cut off the melon stalk with scissors in the early morning. The fruit stalk and the vine form a “T” shape. Handle gently and store in a cool place.