How to fertilize pumpkins for high yields? The latest technical method tutorial
Pumpkin is one of our common vegetables, and also a food that many people love. Its fruit can be used as a dish or as a substitute for grain, and the whole plant can be used medicinally. It is currently cultivated all over the world. Many farmers always get low yields when growing it, and in fact this is related to pumpkin fertilization. Let's take a look at the high-yield fertilization techniques for pumpkins below.
1. Fertilizer requirements
Pumpkin is a vine crop. Its root system is well developed and penetrates relatively deep into the soil, with a very strong ability to absorb water and nutrients, so it has a very strong tolerance for drought and poor soil. Therefore, when planting, it does not have strict soil requirements, but it is best suited to sandy loam with deep soil layers, good drainage and rapid warming. Pumpkin needs relatively little fertility during the seedling stage, but when it enters fruit expansion, the demand for fertility rises sharply, especially for nitrogen fertilizer, followed by potassium, while phosphorus uptake increases along with watering. However, if there is too much nitrogen fertilizer in the early growth stage, it easily causes excessive vegetative growth of stems and leaves and easy fruit drop.
2. Base fertilizer
Base fertilizer is mainly organic fertilizer, combined with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Commonly used ones include barnyard manure, compost or farmyard manure. The application rate of base fertilizer is relatively large, about half of the total fertilization amount. Generally, 3000-4000 kg of organic fertilizer is applied per mu. Mix the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers with the organic fertilizer and apply them into the soil layer. If the organic fertilizer is insufficient, supplement with 15-20 kg of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer per mu. Base fertilizer is generally applied by broadcasting or by digging furrows and banding. Broadcasting is mainly done during land preparation, spreading the fertilizer evenly over the soil and mixing it evenly with the soil.
3. Topdressing
Topdressing is generally mainly quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, reasonably combined with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. When topdressing, it should be carried out according to the different growth stages of pumpkin. At the seedling stage, topdressing is mainly nitrogen fertilizer. In order to promote seedling growth, generally 5-8 [environment] of urea is applied per mu. During the fruiting stage, not only sufficient nitrogen fertilizer needs to be supplied, but phosphorus and potassium fertilizers should also be supplemented in time to promote fruit expansion. Generally, 10-15 kg of urea and 5-10 kg of potassium sulfate are applied per mu, and this should be done twice during the entire fruiting stage.
4. Foliar spraying
In the middle and late stages of pumpkin growth, the absorption capacity of the root system is relatively weak. In order to ensure the needs of pumpkin growth and development and avoid premature aging of the plants, root-outside fertilization should be used at this time to supplement nutrients for the plants, and the most commonly used is foliar spraying. Generally, urea, chloride fertilizer and potassium dihydrogen phosphate are prepared into a mixed solution of extremely low concentration, sprayed once every 7-10 days, for 2-3 consecutive times.
The above are high-yield fertilization techniques for pumpkins. I hope they can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.