Detailed Introduction to Soilless Watermelon Cultivation Techniques

The promotion of soilless cultivation techniques has freed crop planting from being limited to soil cultivation, and both yield and quality have improved. Below, we take soilless watermelon cultivation techniques as an example for a detailed introduction.

What are soilless watermelon cultivation techniques like?

1. Preparing materials

Use a porcelain pot or plastic bag with a diameter of 30 cm and a height of 45 cm, fill the lower part with 15 cm of pebble chunks, and fill the upper part with 80 to 90 percent clean river sand.

2. Seed soaking and seedling raising

After disinfecting the watermelon seeds and soaking them in warm water, rinse them clean with clear water, drain off the water, wrap them well in gauze, and place them in an environment of 30-32 degrees C to promote germination. Rinse the seeds once each morning and evening, and after about 2-3 d the seeds germinate; before sowing, water first, and after the substrate has absorbed water and reached suitable moisture (when squeezed in the hand, water should only seep out from between the fingers), then dibble the seeds into a plug tray, cover with a layer of substrate, sprinkle thoroughly with water, cover well with plastic film, and cover with a shade net for shading.

3. Water and fertilizer

One week before planting, water the substrate thoroughly with tap water, and spray the trellis materials, walls, and cultivation material with 1% potassium permanganate. 2-3 days after planting, choose a sunny morning to water with the planting water. During the seedling stage, focus on promoting growth, and thereafter apply a special water-soluble fertilizer by drip once every two days; before watermelon flowering and fruiting, depending on the seedling condition, drip less water and water heavily twice a week; during the flowering stage, strictly control drip irrigation, and during the fruit-swelling stage, apply fertilizer twice a week together with drip irrigation; at the early flowering stage, fruit-setting stage, and fruit-swelling stage, carry out 1-2 foliar fertilizer sprays each.

4. Management

Soilless watermelons, like other watermelon cultivation, also require field management work such as pruning and training vines onto supports, selecting the fruit, and hanging the fruit.

In addition, the fruit-swelling stage of watermelon is short and ripening is fast; generally it matures 35 days after fruit setting, so harvesting must be timely.