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What are the key points for growing zucchini in winter and spring?

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What should be noted when growing zucchini in winter and spring? Please give an introduction. When growing zucchini in winter and spring, pay attention to the following aspects: 1. Choose good varieties. For spring zucchini, choose varieties that are tolerant to low temperatures, early maturing, high yielding and disease resistant, such as Mosaic zucchini, Zaoqing Yidai, Yinqing Yidai, Golden Coral, Qishan No. 2, Zhangxuan No. 1, Black Beauty, etc...

What should be noted when growing zucchini in winter and spring? Please give an introduction


When growing zucchini in winter and spring, pay attention to the following aspects:
1. Choose good varieties. For spring zucchini, choose varieties that are tolerant to low temperatures, early maturing, high yielding and disease resistant, such as Mosaic zucchini, Zaoqing Yidai, Yinqing Yidai, Golden Coral, Qishan No. 2, Zhangxuan No. 1, Black Beauty, etc. Raise seedlings and cultivate in a solar greenhouse. Raise seedlings in early December, sowing directly in the seedbed or raising seedlings in nutrient pots.
 
2. Fertilizing and planting. The winter-spring crop of zucchini has a relatively short growing period, so the amount of base fertilizer can be less than that for the overwintering crop. Apply 5-8 cubic meters of high-quality farmyard manure and 50-70 kg of superphosphate per 667 sq m. The specific land preparation operations are the same as for the overwintering crop. Usually, planting is done on high ridges with wide and narrow rows. The wide row spacing is 80 cm, and the narrow row spacing is 55-60 cm. On the predetermined row spacing, make ridges with a bottom width of 30 cm and a height of 25 cm. Between the 80 cm wide rows, build a walkway 25 cm high. Open holes on the ridges for planting, with a plant spacing of 45 cm, water each hole with planting water, and close the holes.
3. Promote seedling recovery. During seedling recovery, water each hole with planting water to prevent excessive water from lowering the soil temperature. After seedling recovery, strengthen intertillage, once every 3-4 days, for 3-4 times in a row. The intertillage depth can reach 10 cm, but it must not damage the soil ball attached during planting. From planting until fruit set, pay attention to raising the temperature in the solar greenhouse to promote seedling recovery and plant growth. Loosen the soil by intertillage to promote root growth and lay the foundation for fruit set. From planting to seedling recovery takes 5-7 days. Generally, do not ventilate, and add small arch sheds at night, doing everything possible to raise the temperature. During the day, the high temperature can be maintained at 25-30°C, and even 32°C is acceptable; at night, the low temperature should not be lower than 15-18°C. After seedling recovery, the temperature can be slightly lowered, maintained at 22-25°C during the day and 15°C at night.
4. Regulate temperature. After planting, keep the daytime temperature at 25-30°C and the nighttime temperature at 18-20°C to promote seedling recovery. After seedling recovery, lower the temperature appropriately, to 20-25°C during the day and 12-16°C at night, to prevent excessive seedling growth. After fruit set, keep it at 25-28°C during the day and 15-18°C at night to promote plant growth. During low-temperature and low-light periods in winter, try to maintain 23-25°C during the day and 10-12°C at night to increase the net photosynthetic rate under weak light. After early spring the following year, the temperature gradually rises, so ventilate in time to avoid high temperature and high humidity.
5. Fertilizing and watering. When the first fruit of the zucchini begins to swell and the fruit is 6-10 cm long, start watering for the first time; afterward, water whenever the soil surface becomes dry. When the first fruit weighs about 0.25 kg, harvest it in time. During the peak fruiting period, strengthen fertilization and watering, while also preventing high nighttime temperatures, so as to control vine growth and promote fruit development. Carry out topdressing, watering, and the alternate use of organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer, that is, applying organic fertilizer with irrigation water - clear water, and applying cake fertilizer with irrigation water - clear water, alternately. Each time, apply 20 kg of nitrogen fertilizer per 667 sq m. In the late fruiting period, the plants age, so appropriately reduce topdressing; watering is the same as during the peak fruiting period, watering whenever the soil surface becomes dry.
 
6. Artificial pollination. The first flower of zucchini is generally female, and the second flower is generally male. Female and male flowers usually open at 4-6 a.m., and from 9-11 a.m. the male flowers can be seen spread open, which is also the best time for pollination. When pollinating, first check whether the male flower has produced pollen. You can wipe the male flower's stamen with your finger. If you find yellow powder on your fingertip, then there is mature pollen. Then remove the male flower, take off the petals, aim at the stigma of the female flower and rub gently, so that the stigma is evenly pollinated; otherwise, deformed fruit is likely to form.
 
7. Smearing flowers with hormones. When the air humidity is relatively high, or there are no male flowers in the greenhouse, and female flowers grow in the leaf axils of every vine, this situation is one leaf, one fruit. At this time, hormones are needed to treat fruit set. The hormones commonly used now for fruit set are mainly 2,4-D or Baoguoning, etc. When using hormones to smear young fruit, choose a sunny day from 9-10 a.m. for the smearing. Specific method: dip a writing brush in the solution, dip once for each fruit, quickly smear once on the stigma with the first stroke, then gently smear once on the young fruit body from the tail toward the fruit stalk with the second stroke, and the whole process is completed. In addition, note: first, when using hormones, the concentration used should be lower at high temperatures, and the concentration ratio should be slightly higher at low temperatures; second, if the zucchini vines are growing vigorously, the concentration used should be higher, and if the growth is weak, the concentration should be lower.
8. Harvest in time. Zucchini uses young fruit as the product organ. 7-10 days after the female flower withers, the ovary develops rapidly and reaches the maturity standard for edible young fruit, with a yield of 4000-6000 kg per 667 sq m. When the first batch of young fruit is harvested, it is already the time when spring is warm and flowers are blooming, and the management is mainly focused on lowering temperature and humidity.
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