A Detailed Guide to Chayote Planting Methods and Key Field Management Points
Chayote, also known as Buddha's hand gourd or fist melon, is rich in nutrients, low in calories, and highly valued as a food, and it has high yields per mu and stable market prices, making it a vegetable variety worth growing for farmers. So what are the chayote planting methods and key field management points?
I. Chayote Planting Methods
1. Regions Suitable for Growing Chayote
There are still many regions in our country suitable for growing chayote. For example, in Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan, China, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Liaoning, there are farmers growing chayote on a scale, and most chayote grows well in mountainous areas, with high yields per plant.
2. Growth Habits of Chayote
Chayote prefers warmth and can tolerate higher temperatures; it can only grow normally above 20°C. The fruit development stage requires slightly lower temperatures, and when the ground temperature is below 5°C, the root system dies. Chayote is suited to relatively fertile soil with good water retention. It is fairly tolerant of fertilizer and has very strong resistance to pests and diseases.
3. Planting Chayote
Chayote is a shallow-rooted crop and is best grown in fertile vegetable garden soil. Around “Jingzhe” (Awakening of Insects), it is planted at the same time as greenhouse vegetables such as cucumbers and tomatoes.
Each place can choose a suitable transplanting time according to different climate conditions. Generally, transplanting is chosen around “May Day”; after transplanting, spray with new high-lipid film, which on the plant surface can prevent infection by pathogens, improve resistance to natural disasters, increase the intensity of photosynthesis, and protect the seedlings so they grow vigorously.
II. Field Management of Chayote
1. Seedling Stage Management
After chayote is planted, only a small amount of water should be given during the seedling stage. When growth is vigorous, do not apply additional fertilizer. Pay attention to ventilation and light during the day, and protect against freezing at night.
2. Building the Trellis and Training onto It
Chayote has a very strong ability to branch from side shoots. In the early stage, promptly remove the side buds at the base. When pruning, pinch off the growing tip of the main vine at about 30 cm to 50 cm, and select 2 to 3 vigorous secondary vines per plant. When the secondary vines grow to 150 cm, pinch them again, leaving 3 tertiary vines each. Pay attention to adjusting the trellis surface, remove tendrils in time, and according to the growth of the main vine, suppress the strong and support the weak so that they are evenly distributed on the trellis surface.
3. Fertilization Management
Before watering, apply additional nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizer or farmyard manure. To improve the effectiveness of farmyard manure, add 5-7 kg of superphosphate to every 100 kg of human and animal urine, stir evenly, store for 5-10 days to ferment, and then apply an appropriate amount in each planting hole.
4. Flowering and Fruiting Stage Management
From mid-June, when other vegetables in the shed are pulled up, to mid-September, when chayote plants begin to flower and set fruit, chayote must be fertilized and watered promptly during the flowering and fruiting stages, and sprayed in a timely manner with Zhuangguadiling, which can thicken the fruit stalk, strengthen the targeted transport of nutrients, promote rapid development of the fruit body, and produce attractive fruit shapes with plenty of juice and good flavor.
Chayote can generally be harvested as tender fruit 15 to 20 days after flowering. The fruit matures in 40 to 50 days, and each plant can produce 200 to 300 fruits. When picking, be careful to handle them gently to prevent bruising.
Overall, the expected market return from growing chayote is about 5,000 yuan per mu, which is relatively speaking also a planting choice that can help increase farmers' income.