Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial for Black-Skinned Winter Melon
Winter melon is a kind of vegetable that is used for everything. In recent years, the yield of short melons has been low and the market price low, while long-strip winter melons sell at high prices and bring high returns, so more and more people are growing them. This variety grows vigorously, has strong stress resistance and firm flesh, and because its skin is dark green or black, it is called black-skinned winter melon. So how should black-skinned winter melon be cultivated? Let's take a look together.
1. Timely sowing
Spring sowing is generally in February to April, and it can be harvested in about 120 days; autumn sowing is generally in June to July, and it can be harvested in about 100 days. If nutrient-pot seedling raising is used, when the true leaves have unfolded, choose a sunny day to transplant to the field; for autumn planting, after seed soaking and germination acceleration, it can be sown directly into the field. For ground-creeping cultivation, about 20-30 grams of seed are needed per mu; for trellis cultivation, about 40-50 grams of seed are needed per mu.
2. Land selection and planting
Before planting, choose a plot whose previous crop was rice or an aquatic crop. For ground-creeping cultivation, raised beds need to be made. The planting spacing should be determined according to the variety and the growing season. In spring, the growth period is long, fruiting is late and the melons are large, so single-row planting is suitable, with a plant spacing of 80—100 cm, and about 300 plants per mu; while in autumn, the growth period is short, fruiting is early and the melons are thinner, so for single-row planting the plant spacing is 60-80 cm, with about 350 plants per mu. For trellis cultivation, about 700-800 plants can be grown per mu.
3. Fertilizer and water management
Winter melon has a relatively large demand for fertilizer and water. To obtain high yield, sufficient base fertilizer must be applied and topdressing must be continued later. When making the beds, it is advisable to open a furrow in the middle of the bed and apply decomposed farmyard manure as base fertilizer, generally about 1000 kg per mu. If farmyard manure is used for sowing, 40 kg of compound fertilizer can be applied as base fertilizer. When planting, apply 1-2 kg of farmyard manure per hole, mix well, and then plant, which can promote rapid root growth and development. Topdressing should follow the needs of the plants, mastering the principle of light first and heavy later, and from dilute to concentrated.
4. Field management
Winter melon very easily produces adventitious roots, so vine pressing must be done thoroughly. When pressing vines, loop each plant's vine in a circle on the bed surface around the plant, and every few days press mud clumps on the nodes, pressing only 3—4 places so that adventitious roots grow on the nodes. After the vine has been pressed over 15 nodes on the bed surface, guide the vine onto the trellis. Vine guiding should be carried out according to the direction of the bed, deliberately guiding the vines toward the west, using the branches and leaves to shade the fruit so as to reduce direct western sunlight and avoid sunburning the winter melon. In addition, for trellised winter melon, only the main vine is retained, and all other branches and vines must be removed.
The above is an introduction to the cultivation techniques of black-skinned winter melon. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please keep following us.