How to Fertilize Bitter Melon Well? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Fertilization Techniques

When it comes to bitter melon, many people have different opinions. For those who enjoy eating bitter melon, it is naturally a delicacy, but for those who dislike it, it is comparable to poison. Regardless, the nutritional value and benefits of bitter melon are very powerful, and its adaptable range is now increasingly wide, and it is grown all over the country. Today we are mainly going to learn about how to fertilize bitter melon.

1. Base fertilizer

Base fertilizer is the most fundamental condition for the growth of any plant, so the same applies when planting bitter melon. For the base fertilizer, we mainly use farmyard manure as the foundation, then supplement with an appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer and potassium fertilizer. For planting bitter melon, the farmyard manure needed per mu is about 5,000 kg, nitrogen fertilizer 40 kg, phosphate fertilizer 50 kg and potassium fertilizer 30 kg. It must be stirred evenly, then turned into the soil.

2. Seedling-promoting fertilizer

The seedling-promoting fertilizer is generally a nutrient supply applied once when bitter melon is transplanted. At this time we usually combine it with watering, which can improve the survival rate of bitter melon seedlings, and at the same time allow the nutrients to be fully absorbed by the bitter melon seedlings, thus promoting root growth. The amount of seedling-promoting fertilizer used is generally not large, mainly urea-based, requiring about 10 jin of urea per mu, and 4 to 5 jin of potassium fertilizer can be added, which can enhance the resistance of the bitter melon seedlings.

3. Growth fertilizer

The growth fertilizer is applied when the bitter melon seedlings have grown to about 30 to 40 cm. At this time, in order to speed up the growth rate of the bitter melon seedlings, shorten their growth period, and thus make them flower and bear fruit faster, we still need to add an appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer, or use manure and urine water for irrigation. At the same time, about 5 jin of urea and 3 to 4 jin of potassium fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer can be added to the manure and urine water, which can prevent the seedlings from excessive vegetative growth.

4. Flower-promoting fertilizer

When bitter melon grows to a certain extent, it will enter the flowering period. Fertilization is generally carried out about one week before bitter melon blooms or just as it begins to bloom, which can extend the flowering period of bitter melon and thereby increase the fruit-setting rate of bitter melon. This fertilization is mainly based on phosphate fertilizer and base fertilizer, and an appropriate amount of boron fertilizer can also be sprayed. The fertilizer is generally prepared in a ratio of 3:2:1.

5. Fruit-fattening fertilizer

As we all know, fruit-fattening fertilizer is applied after fruit setting, when the fruit has grown to the size of two fingers, to promote the enlargement of bitter melon. The fruit-fattening fertilizer is still mainly phosphate fertilizer and potassium fertilizer. Per mu, apply 10 jin of phosphate fertilizer and 8 jin of potassium fertilizer. Secondly, during this period, an appropriate amount of foliar fertilizer can be sprayed, and some biological fertilizer specially used for fruit fattening can also be used, so that the quality of bitter melon is not affected while increasing the yield.

6. Late-stage fertilizer

Late-stage fertilizer mainly refers to the fertilizer applied after the first batch of bitter melon is harvested, which basically all belongs to late-stage fertilizer. It is mainly to prevent the bitter melon seedlings from aging, thereby reducing the yield of bitter melon. Therefore, after each harvest of bitter melon, a maintenance fertilization is needed, mainly based on urea and compound fertilizer, requiring about 20 jin per mu on average. At the same time, an appropriate amount of phosphate fertilizer and potassium fertilizer also needs to be used together for root-zone fertilization, which can effectively prevent premature aging of the plants.