Watermelon Pruning Methods and Key Technical Points

(Agricultural Wealth Network) Watermelon has a strong branching ability. To reduce nutrient waste, control vegetative growth of the plant, and reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases, it is often necessary to prune and remove part of the vines. Except for varieties that set fruit very easily under sparse planting, dryland watermelons, etc., which are not pruned or are pruned in a simplified way. The commonly used methods are two-vine pruning and three-vine pruning. Two-vine pruning is, besides the main vine, selecting another robust lateral vine at the base, removing all other lateral vines, and letting the main vine and lateral vine grow forward in parallel or in opposite directions; or pinching off the growing tip of the main vine and keeping two strong lateral vines at the base to grow in parallel. Three-vine pruning is, on the basis of retaining the main vine, selecting and keeping two robust lateral vines at the plant base or the base of the main vine, and removing other lateral vines in time.