Detailed Guide to Protected Cultivation Techniques for Thin-Skinned Melons (Part 1)
Protected Cultivation Techniques for Thin-Skinned Melons (Part 1)
(Agricultural Wealth Network) Laoting County began protected cultivation of thin-skinned melons in 2001, with production area increasing year by year and remarkable economic benefits, and has summarized a set of high-yield cultivation techniques with trellised vines, now introduced as follows for reference in various regions.
I. Site Selection, Land Preparation, and Fertilization
For newly built greenhouses, simple greenhouses, and plastic tunnels, attention must be paid to site selection. Melons are light-loving crops, so it is advisable to choose a leeward, sunny site with good drainage, deep soil layers, and fertile sandy loam, with a pH of 6.5-7.5, low soil salinity, and a previous crop preferably of cereals, corn, sorghum, wheat, etc. Planting on such preceding crops yields good quality. Avoid preceding crops of melons, cotton, and some vegetables to prevent severe melon diseases. If crop rotation cannot be arranged and planting follows beans, attention should be paid to applying more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer.
After selecting the site, various types of sheds and greenhouses should be built before winter arrives, and autumn plowing, land preparation, and sufficient basal fertilizer application should be carried out. Generally, in conjunction with deep plowing (30-40 cm), broadcast-apply 2000-4000 kg of fully decomposed organic fertilizer and 60-100 kg of potassium sulfate three-element compound fertilizer per mu. After harrowing, pressing, mixing, and leveling the soil and fertilizer, for greenhouses and simple greenhouses, use a wide row spacing of 80 cm and a narrow row spacing of 60 cm; for spring plastic tunnels, form ridges along the shed direction at a ridge spacing of 100 cm, with a ridge height of 20 cm, and transplant after covering the shed.
II. Variety Selection
Variety selection criteria should be based on three considerations: first, appearance, quality, and market; second, yield potential, adaptability, and stress resistance; third, requirements for the growing environment and management level. Varieties successfully planted in our county mainly include Hongcheng No. 10, Hongcheng No. 15, Jingxiang No. 2, Yongtian No. 11, Saixue No. 8, Shengxue, Jiaoxue No. 5, Pengkang 518, etc.
III. Determining the Appropriate Sowing Period and Transplanting Period
The determination of the appropriate sowing period should be based on the warming and insulation performance of the cultivation facility type. On the basis of determining the transplanting period, select the appropriate sowing period. Generally, the appropriate sowing period is about 40 days before the transplanting period, with a seedling age of 3 true leaves and 1 heart to 4 true leaves and 1 heart. The appropriate sowing periods and transplanting periods for the main facility types in Laoting are shown in the table on the right:
IV. Seedling Raising
Seedling raising is divided into conventional seedling raising and grafted seedling raising. Conventional seedling raising is suitable for newly built sheds and greenhouses, with mild disease and low seedling mortality; grafted seedling raising is suitable for continuous cropping production and can effectively prevent the occurrence of continuous cropping diseases such as fusarium wilt, with the rootstock being yellow-seed pumpkin or white-seed pumpkin. The conventional seedling raising method is briefly introduced below:
(1) Pre-sowing Preparation and Sowing Methods
1. Preparation of nutrient soil. Mix 50% fertile sterile field soil, 40% fully decomposed high-quality organic fertilizer, and 10% fine furnace slag or sawdust, mix evenly, and sift. Generally, no chemical fertilizer needs to be added to the above nutrient soil. If the field soil and organic fertilizer are of poor quality, 1 kg of diammonium phosphate dissolved in water can be added per cubic meter. To prevent seedling-stage diseases and pests, 200 g of 50% carbendazim and 1000-fold dilution of 50% phoxim can be added per cubic meter and sprayed and mixed into the nutrient soil, then piled and sealed for sterilization and pest elimination.
2. Preparation of seedling pots. When raising seedlings, the nutrient soil can be directly loaded into seedling pots, and then the nutrient pots placed in the seedling bed, watered thoroughly to increase temperature, ready for sowing.
3. Disinfection of the seedling shed. 7-10 days before seedling raising, fumigate the shed with chlorothalonil smoke agent + aphid-killing smoke agent for one day and night, then ventilate to release toxic gases and prepare for sowing.
4. Seed treatment and germination. (1) Sun-drying seeds: 2-3 days before sowing, place the seeds in a sunny place to sun-dry for 1 day, and frequently turn the seeds, which can sterilize, break dormancy, and enhance seed vigor.
(2) Cold water soaking: Soak the sun-dried seeds in cool water at 12°C-15°C for 1 hour, allowing the seeds to absorb water slowly, preventing high-temperature water soaking from cracking the seed coat and affecting germination rate.
(3) Chemical soaking: After soaking, remove the seeds, drain the water, and pour them into a chemical solution 3-4 times the seed volume, soak for 4-6 hours, stirring once every 1 hour to ensure even exposure to the chemical. Commonly used chemicals include: 300-fold formalin solution, 1000-fold copper sulfate solution, 600-fold carbendazim solution.
(4) Germination: After soaking in the chemical solution, wash the seeds clean with water and rub off the mucilage on the seed coat, wrap them in a wet cloth, and place them under 25°C-32°C conditions for germination. During the germination process, frequently rinse the sprouting seeds with warm water at about 30°C. Generally, complete germination occurs within 24 hours. When the sprouts grow to 2-3 mm, place them under 10°C-15°C conditions to harden the sprouts, improving their adaptability.
I. Site Selection, Land Preparation, and Fertilization
For newly built greenhouses, simple greenhouses, and plastic tunnels, attention must be paid to site selection. Melons are light-loving crops, so it is advisable to choose a leeward, sunny site with good drainage, deep soil layers, and fertile sandy loam, with a pH of 6.5-7.5, low soil salinity, and a previous crop preferably of cereals, corn, sorghum, wheat, etc. Planting on such preceding crops yields good quality. Avoid preceding crops of melons, cotton, and some vegetables to prevent severe melon diseases. If crop rotation cannot be arranged and planting follows beans, attention should be paid to applying more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer.
After selecting the site, various types of sheds and greenhouses should be built before winter arrives, and autumn plowing, land preparation, and sufficient basal fertilizer application should be carried out. Generally, in conjunction with deep plowing (30-40 cm), broadcast-apply 2000-4000 kg of fully decomposed organic fertilizer and 60-100 kg of potassium sulfate three-element compound fertilizer per mu. After harrowing, pressing, mixing, and leveling the soil and fertilizer, for greenhouses and simple greenhouses, use a wide row spacing of 80 cm and a narrow row spacing of 60 cm; for spring plastic tunnels, form ridges along the shed direction at a ridge spacing of 100 cm, with a ridge height of 20 cm, and transplant after covering the shed.
II. Variety Selection
Variety selection criteria should be based on three considerations: first, appearance, quality, and market; second, yield potential, adaptability, and stress resistance; third, requirements for the growing environment and management level. Varieties successfully planted in our county mainly include Hongcheng No. 10, Hongcheng No. 15, Jingxiang No. 2, Yongtian No. 11, Saixue No. 8, Shengxue, Jiaoxue No. 5, Pengkang 518, etc.
III. Determining the Appropriate Sowing Period and Transplanting Period
The determination of the appropriate sowing period should be based on the warming and insulation performance of the cultivation facility type. On the basis of determining the transplanting period, select the appropriate sowing period. Generally, the appropriate sowing period is about 40 days before the transplanting period, with a seedling age of 3 true leaves and 1 heart to 4 true leaves and 1 heart. The appropriate sowing periods and transplanting periods for the main facility types in Laoting are shown in the table on the right:
IV. Seedling Raising
Seedling raising is divided into conventional seedling raising and grafted seedling raising. Conventional seedling raising is suitable for newly built sheds and greenhouses, with mild disease and low seedling mortality; grafted seedling raising is suitable for continuous cropping production and can effectively prevent the occurrence of continuous cropping diseases such as fusarium wilt, with the rootstock being yellow-seed pumpkin or white-seed pumpkin. The conventional seedling raising method is briefly introduced below:
(1) Pre-sowing Preparation and Sowing Methods
1. Preparation of nutrient soil. Mix 50% fertile sterile field soil, 40% fully decomposed high-quality organic fertilizer, and 10% fine furnace slag or sawdust, mix evenly, and sift. Generally, no chemical fertilizer needs to be added to the above nutrient soil. If the field soil and organic fertilizer are of poor quality, 1 kg of diammonium phosphate dissolved in water can be added per cubic meter. To prevent seedling-stage diseases and pests, 200 g of 50% carbendazim and 1000-fold dilution of 50% phoxim can be added per cubic meter and sprayed and mixed into the nutrient soil, then piled and sealed for sterilization and pest elimination.
2. Preparation of seedling pots. When raising seedlings, the nutrient soil can be directly loaded into seedling pots, and then the nutrient pots placed in the seedling bed, watered thoroughly to increase temperature, ready for sowing.
3. Disinfection of the seedling shed. 7-10 days before seedling raising, fumigate the shed with chlorothalonil smoke agent + aphid-killing smoke agent for one day and night, then ventilate to release toxic gases and prepare for sowing.
4. Seed treatment and germination. (1) Sun-drying seeds: 2-3 days before sowing, place the seeds in a sunny place to sun-dry for 1 day, and frequently turn the seeds, which can sterilize, break dormancy, and enhance seed vigor.
(2) Cold water soaking: Soak the sun-dried seeds in cool water at 12°C-15°C for 1 hour, allowing the seeds to absorb water slowly, preventing high-temperature water soaking from cracking the seed coat and affecting germination rate.
(3) Chemical soaking: After soaking, remove the seeds, drain the water, and pour them into a chemical solution 3-4 times the seed volume, soak for 4-6 hours, stirring once every 1 hour to ensure even exposure to the chemical. Commonly used chemicals include: 300-fold formalin solution, 1000-fold copper sulfate solution, 600-fold carbendazim solution.
(4) Germination: After soaking in the chemical solution, wash the seeds clean with water and rub off the mucilage on the seed coat, wrap them in a wet cloth, and place them under 25°C-32°C conditions for germination. During the germination process, frequently rinse the sprouting seeds with warm water at about 30°C. Generally, complete germination occurs within 24 hours. When the sprouts grow to 2-3 mm, place them under 10°C-15°C conditions to harden the sprouts, improving their adaptability.