Latest Zucchini Seed Prices and Planting Methods

Zucchini, also known as bear (male) melon, white melon, small melon, etc., is an annual trailing herbaceous plant of the Cucurbita genus in the Cucurbitaceae family. It originated in southern North America and other places, and is now distributed throughout the world. China began introducing it from Europe for cultivation in the mid-19th century. The fruit is eaten as a vegetable. Now let us take a look at zucchini seed prices and planting methods together!

Zucchini Seed Price List

Note: There are many cultivated varieties of zucchini, and their seed prices vary depending on the variety. When purchasing, be sure to look at the variety first (mainly looking at variety characteristics, yield, etc.) and then at the price. Therefore, the above prices are for reference only, and the specific price shall be based on the actual situation!

Cultivated Varieties of Zucchini

1. Mosaic Zucchini: Commonly cultivated in northern China, with shorter vines, fewer branches, and a compact plant shape. Each plant bears 3-5 melons. The melon is long oval, with dark green skin bearing irregular yellow-green stripes. The flesh is greenish-white, dense, and low in fiber.

2. Seedless Zucchini: A variety grown for its seeds. The plant is trailing, with vines 1.6 m long. The melon is short cylindrical. The young melon can be used as a vegetable, and the mature melon skin is orange-yellow. A single melon weighs 4-5 kg.

3. Green-Skinned Zucchini: The plant vines are 3 m long, and the leaves are heart-shaped, dark green, with irregular serrations on the leaf margins. The melon is long oval, with smooth greenish-white skin and 6 ridges. A single melon generally weighs 2-3 kg.

4. Long-Vine Zucchini: The plant grows prostrate, with stems about 2.5 m long and medium branching. The leaves are triangular, shallowly lobed, green, and hairy on the underside. The main vine begins to bear melons after the ninth node. Each plant bears 2-3 melons. The melon is cylindrical and slightly narrower in the middle.

Sowing Methods for Zucchini

1. Variety Selection: Early-maturing zucchini varieties include Zaoqing No. 1, Yiwohou, Atai No. 1, Tezao No. 1, Xiaobaipi, and Mosaic Zucchini, etc. Medium-maturing varieties include Long-Vine Zucchini, etc. Generally, cultivation in greenhouses (rooms) in early spring gives relatively high returns.

2. Disinfection and Germination: After sun-drying zucchini seeds, place them in water at 50-55°C and stir for 15 minutes, then soak at room temperature for 6-8 hours. After washing, place them under conditions of 25-30°C with warmth and moisture maintained for germination, and rinse with clean water once every 6 hours. They will germinate after 2-3 days.

3. Prepare the Nutrient Bed: For zucchini nutrient soil, use 6 parts garden soil and 4 parts decomposed barnyard manure, sift and mix evenly, then add 15 kg of sifted chicken manure and 5000 g of compound fertilizer per square meter of bed soil, mix evenly, and set aside.

4. Sowing Time: The soil temperature for transplanting zucchini must be above 12°C. For production in plastic greenhouses, seedlings are generally raised in February-March, with a seedling period of 30-40 days. For open-field production, seedlings are generally raised in March-April, with a seedling period of 25-30 days.

5. Sowing Method: Place one germinated seed flat in each nutrient pot or soil block, with the sprout facing down, then cover with 2 cm of fine soil, and immediately cover with plastic film to maintain warmth and moisture. The sowing rate is 400-500 g per mu.

Planting Methods for Zucchini

1. Land Preparation and Fertilization: Zucchini base fertilizer is mainly organic fertilizer. Generally, apply 2000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer, 75 kg of cake fertilizer, 40 kg of compound fertilizer, and 80 kg of plant ash per mu. Spread the fertilizer evenly on the ground, plow 30 cm deep, and level the ground.

2. Ditching and Bed Preparation: Zucchini is cultivated with deep ditches, high beds, and plastic film mulching. The bed is 100 cm wide and 20 cm high, and the ditch is 25-30 cm wide. Before transplanting, use 1 kg per mu of 45% chlorothalonil smoke agent to fumigate and seal the greenhouse for disinfection for about 7 days.

3. Transplanting Time: Zucchini seedlings are transplanted when they have 3 leaves and 1 heart or when 4 leaves have just unfolded, at a seedling age of about 30 days. Small varieties are planted in double rows at a spacing of 40×40 cm, about 1800 plants per mu. Large varieties are planted in double rows at a spacing of 50×50 cm, about 1600 plants per mu.

4. Transplanting Method: Water thoroughly 1 day before transplanting zucchini. Select strong, good seedlings and try to keep more soil around the roots when transplanting. During transplanting, let the root system spread normally. After transplanting, water to settle the roots and seal the transplanting holes tightly with fine soil. Thereafter, water once a day until the seedlings survive.

5. Temperature Management: During the seedling recovery stage of zucchini, the greenhouse temperature should be 25-28°C during the day and 18-20°C at night. After seedling recovery, the greenhouse temperature should be 20-25°C during the day and 12-15°C at night. After fruit set, the daytime temperature should be 22-26°C and the nighttime temperature 15-18°C, with the minimum not lower than 10°C.

6. Artificial Pollination: When temperatures are low in early spring, zucchini must be artificially pollinated. Generally, before 9 a.m., pick freshly opened male flowers of the day, remove the corolla, and gently dab it on the stigma of the female flower, or use plant hormones such as 4-CPA and fruit-setting agents according to the instructions.

7. Fertilizer and Water Management: Zucchini planting should be watered in a timely manner according to soil moisture. If fertilizer is lacking later, the film can be opened and 10-15 kg of compound fertilizer applied per mu, or foliar fertilizer sprayed.

8. Timely Harvesting: Zucchini is mainly eaten as a young melon and is harvested when it meets commercial melon requirements. Plants with vigorous growth should retain more melons and larger melons. Overgrown plants should have their melons harvested appropriately later. Weakly growing plants should retain fewer melons and have their melons harvested earlier.

Pest and Disease Control for Zucchini

1. Powdery Mildew

[Damage] In the early stage of the disease, nearly circular small powdery spots appear on the leaf surface or underside and on young stems, mostly on the upper side of leaves. In severe cases, the entire leaf is covered with white powder. In the later stage of the disease, piles of yellow-brown small granules form on the white fungal spots, and later the small granules turn black.

[Control] Spray evenly with 800 times dilution of 40% sulfur-multi suspension concentrate before and in the early stage of the disease before noon, once every 5-7 days, for 2-3 consecutive sprays.

2. Cottony Leak

[Damage] It harms the fruit and sometimes harms leaves, stems, and other parts. In the early stage of disease on young fruit, oval, water-soaked dark green lesions appear.

[Control] Use high-ridge cultivation, avoid flood irrigation, and prop up the melons. In the early stage of the disease, in combination with the control of gray mold and powdery mildew, spray 600-800 times dilution of 72% chlorothalonil wettable powder.

3. Viral Disease

[Damage] When the disease occurs, dark green lesions appear on the leaves. The upper leaves of severely affected plants are deformed and chicken-claw-shaped, the plants are stunted, and the leaves become smaller. In the later stage, the leaves turn yellow and wither or die. Diseased plants bear few or no melons, and the melon surface shows tumor-like protrusions or deformities.

[Control] Begin spraying 500 times dilution of 20% Virus A wettable powder in the early stage of the disease, once every 10 days, for 3 consecutive sprays.

4. Whiteflies

[Damage] Adults or nymphs gather on the underside of leaves to suck sap, generally mostly inhabiting the upper tender leaves. The damaged leaves dry up.

[Control] Spray pesticide as early as possible when whitefly density is low, once a week, for 3 consecutive times. You may choose 1500 times dilution of 25% buprofezin wettable powder, etc., and spray evenly on the underside of leaves.

5. Leafminer

[Damage] The larvae mine the leaf mesophyll into one strip-like tunnel after another. Only the upper and lower epidermis remain at the damaged areas, and black insect feces are present in the tunnels. In severe cases, the damaged leaves wilt and die, affecting yield.

[Control] 1000 times dilution of 90% trichlorfon or 25% phosmet emulsifiable concentrate, etc. During the peak adult period, spray 6000 times dilution of methomyl. During the larval damage period, spray 1000 times dilution of 25% quinalphos emulsifiable concentrate for control.

6. Red Spider Mite

[Damage] Adults and larvae gather on the underside of leaves and pierce-suck the sap. Yellow-white spots appear on the surface of damaged leaves, and in severe cases the entire plant's leaves turn yellow and wither.

[Control] 2000 times dilution of 73% propargite emulsifiable concentrate, or 1000 times dilution of 25% hexythiazox wettable powder, sprayed once every 7-10 days, focusing on the underside of tender leaves and stem tips, for 3 consecutive sprays.