The Latest Causes of Fruit Cracking in Melons and How to Prevent It

Melons are now increasingly popular in the market and increasingly in demand. Today's melon market is far beyond what it used to be, prices are gradually rising, and quality demands are getting higher and higher. This has attracted a large number of people to rush into large-scale cultivation, but after the fruit has set for some time, many friends will find that melons have a very serious fruit-cracking problem. This seriously harms the quality and yield of melons and also has a huge impact on growers' economic interests. So what causes fruit cracking? How should it be prevented? Let's take a look together!

1. Uneven moisture

Many friends, to prevent the stems and leaves from growing excessively during the melon seedling stage, control the amount of water early on. In fact, this is very unfavorable to the growth of melons, because it will cause severe water shortage during the fruit enlargement stage, making the rind thicker and harder and aging prematurely. Moreover, after the fruit enlargement stage, although melons need a large amount of fertilizer and water, many people water excessively, causing the inside of the melon to begin expanding rapidly and leading to fruit cracking. So the water requirements of melons at each stage must be well controlled to maintain good growth.

2. Hormone causes

Since people started growing melons, many have used the plant growth regulator forchlorfenuron to increase the fruit-setting rate of melons. But most do not strictly follow the usage specifications and methods in the instructions. When using growth regulators, the concentration should be adjusted appropriately according to changes in temperature. If the concentration is too high, especially in the early stage of fruiting, if a growth inhibitor is used, the concentration should not be too high or too great. Too high a concentration will cause the fruit surface to age prematurely while the internal growth rate speeds up, and the rind cannot keep up with the internal growth rate, leading to fruit cracking. So it must be used according to the methods in the instructions and changes in temperature.

3. Removing leaves too early

In the process of growing melons, to reduce the incidence of pests and diseases, prevent the occurrence of disease, and improve the ventilation and light penetration in the field, the old leaves at the bottom of the plants are removed. However, if the old leaves are removed too early or in too great a number, the fruit at the bottom of the plant will lose the shading effect of the leaves. The melon is then exposed to direct sunlight for a long time, causing the rind to age prematurely, and when the rind contracts, round check cracks form, resulting in fruit cracking. So the timing and amount of old leaf removal should be well controlled to avoid long periods of direct sunlight on the fruit.

4. Trace elements

It may also be due to soil reasons. If the soil is too hard and compacted and the water infiltration rate is too slow, the aeration at the plant roots is too poor, which affects the plant's normal absorption of nutrients. If the soil lacks trace elements such as calcium, especially on plots with continuous cropping, fruit cracking occurs more often. Strengthen mid-tillage of the soil, water frequently, and appropriately combine with topdressing to loosen the soil, enhance soil aeration, and reduce diseases caused by the crop's physiological problems.

The above are several causes of fruit cracking in melons. Fruit cracking is a problem that occurs in many fruits. Everyone must not underestimate fruit cracking, because if one fruit begins to crack, then it is very likely to become a large-scale fruit-cracking phenomenon. I hope everyone will pay attention to it. The above points may not be complete, but they are definitely relatively important ones, and I hope they are helpful to everyone.