Detailed Explanation of Key Points for Muskmelon Cultivation Techniques

Muskmelon fruits are round and plump, with golden-yellow rinds, and they taste sweet and delicious, making them very popular with consumers. What are muskmelon cultivation techniques?

Muskmelon Cultivation Techniques

1. First treat the seeds by soaking them in warm water at 50-55°C, stirring until the water reaches room temperature, then soaking the seeds for 4-6 hours, then placing them in a 35°C environment to germinate for 16-24 hours before sowing. After sowing, cover with plastic film to retain heat and moisture, and try not to water before seedlings emerge.

2. For early spring seedling raising, it takes 4 days from sowing to emergence. Keep moisture for the first 3 days and maintain a temperature of about 30°C. When the temperature exceeds 35°C, provide shade to cool it down. After the seedlings push through the soil, lower the temperature appropriately to prevent leggy seedlings. After emergence, ventilate gradually, maintaining the daytime temperature at 26-28°C and nighttime at 18°C. One week before transplanting, gradually lower the nighttime temperature from 18°C to 15°C. Spray the seedbed with a fungicide once 5-7 days after emergence to control seedling-stage diseases. Spray once more 1 day before transplanting. For summer and autumn seedling raising, the key points are ventilation to reduce humidity and temperature, controlling piercing-sucking insects, and managing viral diseases.

3. Base fertilizer should mainly be organic fertilizer. For spring cultivation, apply decomposed barnyard manure, diammonium phosphate, and potassium sulfate per mu.

4. For ground-creeping cultivation, the bed width is about 2 m; for trellis cultivation, the bed width is about 1.5 m, with deep furrows and high beds. Regardless of spring or autumn planting, cover the entire bed surface with plastic film.

5. For spring ground-creeping cultivation in East China, the density is about 800 plants per mu; for trellis cultivation, the suitable density is 1400-1600 plants per mu. For solar greenhouses in North China using trellis cultivation, the suitable density is 1600-1800 plants per mu.

6. For transplanting, trellis cultivation requires digging planting holes, which should be on both sides of the high bed surface at the same horizontal height. For early spring cultivation, use water-point transplanting, with the planting depth such that the cotyledons are not buried and a thin layer of soil covers above the root crown. 5-7 days after transplanting, after the seedlings have grown new roots, water to help them recover, choosing a sunny day.

7. During transplanting and vine extension, maintain daytime temperatures at 25-30°C and nighttime no lower than 15°C; during fruit enlargement, 30-35°C during the day and 18-20°C at night; after fruit enlargement ends, lower the temperature appropriately.

8. When pruning vines, ground-creeping cultivation uses two-vine training, and trellis cultivation uses single-vine training.

9. Perform artificial supplementary pollination in the morning to set fruit. Female flowers can also be treated with fruit-setting hormone (by dipping or spraying). Fruit-setting hormone saves time and is highly effective, and is relatively widely used.

10. Fruit can be selected 5-7 days after fruit set. 2-3 days after fruit selection, put on special sterile bags for muskmelon. Remove them 7 days before maturity. Bagged fruit has finer, smoother, and cleaner rind, and commands a higher market price. In areas with experience, according to variety characteristics, spray fruit enlargement hormone once 13-15 days after fruit set. Too early makes the fruit prone to deformity, and too late causes cracks on the fruit.

11. Generally water 4 times during the whole growth period, namely: watering to help recovery after transplanting, watering to promote seedling growth, watering for fruit set and fruit enlargement, and watering to strengthen vines. Mainly apply diammonium phosphate, urea plus compound fertilizer, potassium sulfate, etc.

During the muskmelon cultivation process, attention must be paid to every detail. Those interested should also consult relevant professionals.