The Latest Bitter Melon Grafting Method and a Detailed Explanation of the Operating Steps
In recent years, bitter melon grafting technology has gradually been applied in production. The survival rate of grafting is very high, and it can effectively isolate continuous cropping obstacles, reduce the incidence of pests and diseases, and also increase the yield of bitter melon, providing very good conditions for pollution-free cultivation and continuous high-efficiency cultivation of bitter melon. So what I want to introduce to you today is bitter melon grafting technology. Let's take a look below!
1. Seed selection and seed soaking
First, select seeds well according to the main local varieties to be planted, avoiding the selection of shriveled seeds or seeds with pests and diseases that would affect planting. Then crack the seed coats of the selected seeds, taking care not to damage the seed kernels. Then place the seeds in warm water at about 58 degrees for 15 minutes. During the soaking process, stir continuously to ensure the bitter melon seeds are heated evenly. When the water temperature drops to about 30 degrees, soak for 9 hours, then remove them and wash the seed mucus clean with clear water. Then wrap the seeds with a wet cloth and place them at about 30 degrees for germination. During the germination process, wash the seeds at least twice to remove mucus and improve the germination rate. When most of the seeds show white, they can be sown.
2. Cultivating rootstock
The rootstock for bitter melon grafting can use pumpkin, so before grafting, pumpkin should be raised in nutrient pots. Before sowing, pumpkin seeds should be treated in the same way as bitter melon seeds. The nutrient soil should mainly consist of soil that has never grown cucurbit vegetables and decomposed compost. Then apply sufficient base fertilizer to the nutrient soil. The base fertilizer should mainly be farmyard manure and compound fertilizer, and an appropriate amount of fungicide can be added. After mixing, seal the nutrient soil and pile it for fermentation and disinfection. After fermentation, spread it out and sun-dry it for about one week, then evenly fill it into nutrient pots and sow for seedling cultivation. When raising bitter melon seedlings, clean soil should also be selected to prevent soil-borne diseases during the bitter melon seedling stage.
⟦NL>3. Grafting at the right time
When the pumpkin seedlings grow true leaves and the bitter melon seedlings grow to one heart leaf, grafting can begin. When grafting, choose a windless, cloudy day with relatively humid weather. Before grafting, water the seedbed thoroughly. Grafting methods include top insertion, needle insertion and others. The commonly used grafting method is needle grafting. First, cut flat the true leaves of the pumpkin seedlings, then remove the lower hypocotyl of the bitter melon, then use a grafting needle to insert into the bitter melon hypocotyl and connect it to the top of the pumpkin seedling. Ensure that the bitter melon hypocotyl fully contacts the pumpkin seedling. After doing this, use a special grafting clip to fix the leaves.
4. Management after grafting
After grafting, do a good job of shading. Within 3 days, the seedlings must not be exposed to direct sunlight, and keep them warm and moist. Then, according to weather changes, properly control the shading time, but ensure at least 5-6 hours of such time each day. After grafting, the temperature should be controlled at about 31 degrees, and the nighttime temperature should also be kept at 20 degrees as much as possible. Seedlings after grafting have a relatively high water requirement, so the humidity in the shed should be increased to 90%. After one week, remove the shading measures and carry out ventilation and hardening of the seedlings, appropriately lowering the temperature, reducing the day and night temperatures by about 5-6 degrees. After two weeks, remove the grafting clips. After the seedlings survive, promptly remove new sprouts from the rootstock. When the seedlings grow to 5 true leaves, they can be transplanted.
The above is a brief introduction to bitter melon grafting technology. After the grafted seedlings survive, they can be managed according to the management methods for the bitter melon seedling stage. As long as they are carefully managed, the survival rate of bitter melon grafting can reach almost 100%, and it has very promising development prospects in bitter melon cultivation. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you for reading and supporting.