What Causes Melon Fruit Abortion? Causes and Prevention Methods

Melons have a high sugar content, a sweet and delicious taste, and rich nutritional value, making them a very popular fruit. Therefore, many fruit growers are also cultivating melons on a large scale. However, many problems often arise during melon cultivation, and fruit abortion is one of them. So what causes melon fruit abortion? And how should it be prevented and controlled? Below, the editor will give you a brief introduction. Let's take a look together!

1. Causes of Fruit Abortion

Unstable Temperature and Humidity

Temperature and humidity are very important for the growth of melons. If, during cultivation, the field temperature fluctuates too much, or the humidity is too high or too low, it will have a very large impact on the development of melon pollen. For example, under long periods of rainy, low-temperature weather, the plant's photosynthesis is hindered, nutrients are urgently insufficient, and this naturally leads to fruit abortion.

Improper Management

Improper management is also a main cause of melon fruit abortion. During cultivation, if water and fertilizer management is improper, it will hinder melon flowering. In particular, poor growth of female flowers and weak resistance affect pollination. Moreover, if planting is too dense, if nitrogen fertilizer is applied alone or excessively, or if pruning and training work is not done well, melons are very prone to excessive vegetative growth. This causes an imbalance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth, and insufficient nutrients lead to melon fruit abortion.

Poor Pollination

Most female melon flowers are mainly bisexual flowers. Although they have nectaries that can attract bees for pollination, if there is long periods of rainy weather, then melons grown in greenhouses will lack bees and other insects to help with pollination. Also, in rainy weather, the activity ability of insects is relatively poor. In addition, reasons such as injury to the stigma of female flowers can easily lead to poor pollination of female flowers. When female flower pollination and fertilization are poor, the ovary cannot expand, and naturally fruit abortion occurs.

Too Many Fruits Set

Part of the reason for melon fruit abortion is also caused by too many melon fruits being set. A melon plant has a load range, and within this range, the melon fruits grow well. However, if this range is exceeded and fruit thinning is not carried out in time, then the fruits will abort due to insufficient plant nutrients or uneven nutrient distribution.

2. Prevention and Control Methods

Because there are many causes of melon fruit abortion, doing a good job in preventing and controlling melon fruit abortion requires targeted measures. First, we must do a good job with water and fertilizer, apply more base fertilizer, increase the proportion of farmyard manure, and combine it with an appropriate amount of fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Reasonably adjust the amount of fertilizer according to the melon's growth period. Do not apply too much fertilizer, to avoid excessive vegetative growth, concentrate nutrients on young fruits, and reduce fruit abortion. Then pay attention to controlling temperature and humidity well, ensuring they are within the suitable range for melon growth. Also do a good job in fruit thinning and pollination to ensure normal melon growth.

The above is a brief introduction to the causes and prevention methods of melon fruit abortion. Melon fruit abortion will have a great impact on melon yield, so everyone must pay close attention when cultivating. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you all for reading and supporting.