How to Grow Watermelons That Hit the Market in April: Methods and Precautions
Watermelon can be said to be an essential fruit of summer. In recent years, there have been more and more off-season fruits and melons, and the reason is that people have gradually come to understand that if goods can enter the market earlier, they can quickly capture the market and thus obtain greater economic benefits. Watermelon is the same: with the continuous development of cultivation techniques, in some regions people can already eat watermelons that hit the market around April, so how is the technique for bringing watermelons to market early achieved? Let us learn about it together below.
1. Seed selection work required for bringing watermelons to market early
Watermelon seed selection requires attention to two points: first, the adaptability of watermelons to the climate of the planting region; second, the market sales situation of the watermelons being grown. Regarding climate adaptability, growers can choose suitable melon seedlings according to local climatic conditions. Regarding market adaptability, there are currently two main melon types on the market: one is seeded watermelon, and the other is seedless watermelon. Planting experience tells us that seeded watermelon can achieve early maturity and early market entry through a series of cultivation techniques, while seedless watermelon has a relatively longer maturation period. Growers can choose both seeded watermelon and seedless watermelon types for planting, with the best ratio being four to six. Using these two physical techniques for pest control can effectively eliminate most pests that seriously harm the growth of melon seedlings, such as cutworm-type pests and fly-aphid-type pests. Seeded watermelon can be used by growers and merchants to enter the market early and capture the market, while seedless watermelon can make up for it later and consolidate the market. The combination of the two brings out the best in each other, helping both growers and merchants obtain considerable economic returns while also meeting consumer demand. At present, among seeded watermelons, the Black Beauty series varieties have shown relatively good field planting results, while among seedless watermelons there is Nongyou New No. 1 and others, and growers can choose reasonably.
2. Reasonable and timely sowing
To bring watermelons to market early, choosing the right sowing time is crucial, and adopting scientific and reasonable sowing methods is indispensable. Timely sowing requires consideration of local climatic conditions, temperature and other factors. Taking the author's location as an example: the average temperature in winter and spring is 14 degrees Celsius, and after March the temperature gradually rises. Growers can sow and raise seedlings in greenhouses during the period of December and January of the following year, and in late January and early February of the following year, growers can transplant the cultivated watermelon seedlings into the greenhouses in the field. The matters needing attention in sowing and seedling raising are as follows: first, seeds must be disinfected before sowing to do a good job of disease prevention; second, after the seeds sprout, sufficient root moisture and abundant nutrition must be ensured; third, artificial strengthening of light intensity is needed.
3. Field management: heat-preservation cultivation
To bring watermelons to market early, sowing and seedling raising must be done early, that is, sowing and seedling raising need to begin around December in winter. Using these two physical techniques for pest control can effectively eliminate most pests that seriously harm the growth of melon seedlings, such as cutworm-type pests and fly-aphid-type pests. The climate in December in winter is still relatively cold, and only by ensuring suitable temperatures can the sowing and seedling raising of watermelons proceed normally. The initial stage of sowing and seedling raising has stricter temperature requirements, so this stage is carried out in greenhouses, and only after the watermelon seedlings have grown for about one month are they transplanted into the greenhouses in the field. In short, to bring watermelons to market early, temperature is the key in the watermelon planting process, so the planting method inside greenhouses is the main means.
4. Field management: thinning seedlings and reasonable close planting
After the watermelon seedlings in the field greenhouses grow to a certain stage, the situation of seedlings becoming tangled with one another will appear. This is because the density of melon seedlings is too high when planted in local areas, so field thinning is very necessary. Excessive seedling density seriously affects the normal growth of melon seedlings and is not conducive to bringing watermelons to market early. However, if the seedlings are planted too densely or too sparsely, it will directly affect watermelon yield. Therefore, growers must, according to the actual situation of their own melon fields, reasonably plan the number of melon seedlings per unit area of their melon fields, plant at a reasonable density, and carry out field thinning work in a timely manner.
5. Field management: irrigation techniques
Watermelons consume a lot of water during the planting process, so sufficient water must be ensured and irrigation actively carried out to ensure that watermelons reach the market early. Irrigation in watermelon field planting management should adhere to the principle of “high frequency, low volume”; this irrigation method is more beneficial to the growth of watermelons. The irrigation technique that conforms to this principle is the currently widely used drip irrigation under film technique. This irrigation technique can not only ensure sufficient water in the watermelon field through all-weather spraying, but can also save water.
6. Field management: pest control
In the process of watermelon planting, to bring watermelons to market early, it is necessary to ensure normal growth of watermelons and protect them from the effects of pests. Using pesticides is one method, but with the development of technology, when growing watermelons today we can reduce the use of pesticides as much as possible, since the use of pesticides has too many obvious and hidden negative effects. Growers can use physical techniques such as frequency-vibration insect-killing lamps and yellow sticky insect traps to control pests. In the field greenhouses, install one frequency-vibration insect-killing lamp on average every three to four square meters, and hang three to four yellow sticky insect traps coated with machine oil and measuring 20 cm by 40 cm every 100 square meters. Using these two physical techniques for pest control can effectively eliminate most pests that seriously harm the growth of melon seedlings, such as cutworm-type pests and fly-aphid-type pests. Moreover, the economic input for frequency-vibration insect-killing lamps and yellow sticky insect traps is one-time, and they can be used for a long time, which can effectively reduce growers' planting costs. In addition, the use of physical techniques does not have the series of negative effects of pesticide use. It not only has a good insect-killing effect but can also ensure the excellent quality of watermelons and improve the safety quality of watermelons.