Why Doesn't Winter Melon Set Fruit? Analysis of the Latest Causes

Winter melon is a large vegetable-type food; one winter melon is enough to feed a whole group of people for a long time, and whether for cooking or for health preservation, winter melon has very good effects. But winter melon failing to set fruit is indeed a problem for many growers. Qinnong Web takes everyone to understand some reasons why winter melon does not set fruit.

1. Malnutrition

This is mostly caused by improper manual management. Winter melon needs fertilizing during both the vine-growing and flowering stages, and it should be applied in small amounts many times, so that the resulting fruit will be round and healthy in size. If nutrition cannot keep up in between, the flowers will not die off directly; they will keep staying in a flowering state, and then only wither after the flowering period ends. The manifestation is that the flowers show no change for a long time, and the flower base shows no tendency to turn into fruit.

2. Little pollen in male flowers

This is mostly caused by natural weather conditions. The usual reason is that the weather temperature is too low and there is too much moisture in the air, causing male flowers to have no pollen after blooming. This situation deserves special attention when flowering occurs during a rainy period. At this time the temperature needs to be controlled manually to ensure the pollen production of male flowers. If the planting area is too large, it is best to carry out artificial pollination, and before flowering it is best to release some fertilizer that promotes pollen quantity to strengthen it.

3. Excessive flowering

Some novice growers think that the more flowers a winter melon produces, the better, and that this way more winter melons will grow. But they often overlook the nutrient supply of the winter melon plant. The nutrients a single vine can supply are limited, and when the number is too large, every flower gets a little, and none of them can develop, ultimately wasting a good seedling for nothing. So when you find a large number of flowers blooming on the winter melon vine, you should immediately remove a suitable amount of them to ensure the nutrient supply for the other flowers.

4. Damage from pests and diseases

This uncontrollable factor is too great. Generally, if any disease appears and infects the flowers, it will cause failure to set fruit. Common symptoms are that the flowers show a withered phenomenon, or some mildew spot symptoms appear, and some will show the flowers turning brown and splitting open. Of course, the most common is damage from pests, which damages the pistil and stamens and leads to unsuccessful pollination. In such cases it is generally recommended to treat the specific problem with the specific remedy and spray pesticide to solve it.

The above are the reasons why winter melon blooms in daily cultivation but does not set fruit. If the above situations occur, everyone should deal with them promptly. Under normal circumstances the above problems are all relatively easy to solve, and everyone must observe carefully. When planting, you should also avoid violating some of the taboo situations above.