Key points of spring greenhouse cultivation techniques for pumpkin

I. Variety selection

Jinglüli and Jinghongli pumpkins.

II. Seedling raising

The suitable sowing period for spring greenhouse pumpkin cultivation is generally mid-February.

1. Preparation before seedling raising

When sowing in early to mid-February, the temperature is relatively low, so electric heating seedbeds must be used for seedling raising.

(1) Making the electric heating seedbed: Choose a greenhouse with good light transmission and strong heat preservation as the seedling-raising greenhouse, and build a seedbed inside the greenhouse that is 22.5 m long, 1.5 m wide, and 15 cm deep. After leveling and firming the bottom surface, use 2 heating wires with a power of 1000 watts, lay 12 lines longitudinally on the seedbed bottom, with a line spacing of 8-10 cm, completely cover the heating wires with fine soil, with a soil coverage depth of 1.5-2 cm.

(2) Nutrient soil: Use 6 parts garden soil (soil that has not grown cucurbit crops), add 3 parts fully decomposed organic fertilizer and 1 part peat, mix thoroughly, sieve, fill into 10 cm x 10 cm nutrient pots, and arrange them neatly in the electric heating seedbed for later use.

(3) Seed treatment: First, sun the selected seeds under bright sunlight for 2 days, which can significantly promote uniform germination. Soak the sun-dried plump seeds in 50°C warm water for disinfection for 15 minutes, stirring with an alcohol thermometer while pouring water so that the water temperature remains at 50°C for 15 minutes; then stir continuously until the water temperature drops to 30°C, soak the seeds for 3-4 hours, rub off the mucus on the seed surface, wash and remove them, place them in a germination container, and cover them top and bottom with moisture-absorbing cloth.

(4) Germination: Wrap the disinfected seeds in moist cotton gauze and place them in a constant-temperature incubator at 28-30°C for heat-preserved germination, washing the seeds once each morning and evening. After 36-48 hours, when the seeds sprout, they can be sown.

2. Sowing

One day before sowing, water the nutrient pots until moistened through, and turn on the heating wire so that the seedbed maintains a certain soil temperature. Use your hand to press small holes about 2 cm deep in the nutrient pots, and sprinkle poisoned soil (25% metalaxyl wettable powder 9 g plus 70% mancozeb wettable powder 1 g mixed with 4 kg fine soil, mixed evenly and piled and sealed for 24 h for later use). Place the germinated seeds into the small holes in the nutrient pots, cover the holes evenly with fine soil, then sprinkle poisoned soil, and cover the prepared small arched shed with plastic film.

3. Seedling stage management

(1) Temperature management should follow the principle of being high before emergence and appropriately lower after emergence. The specific management requirements are shown in Table 4-1.

┌────────┬───────┬───┬───┐

| Growth stage | Soil temperature | Air temperature | Soil temperature | Air temperature |

│ │ (℃) │ (℃) │ (℃) │ (℃)│

├────────┼─── ┼───┼───┼─ ─┤

| Sowing to full emergence | 25-30 | 28 | 25 | 20-25 |

├────────┼───┼───┼───┼───┤

| Full emergence to 15 days before planting | 20-24 | 22-25 | 20 | 15-18 |

├────────┼───┼───┼───┼───┤

| Hardening seedlings 15 days before planting | Above 15 | 22-24 | Above 12 | Above 15 |

├────────┼───┼───┼───┼───┤

| Hardening seedlings (5 days before planting) | Above 10 | 22 | Above 8 | Above 15 |

└────────┴───┴───┴───┴───┘

(2) Water management: Before emergence, the focus of management is heat preservation and moisture retention to speed up emergence. Generally, no watering is done during the seedling stage, but when the soil in the nutrient pots is found to be dry, promptly spray warm water at about 25°C, not too much, to prevent seed rot. When more than 50% of seedlings emerge, the plastic film should be uncovered for ventilation and seedling hardening to prevent excessive growth. During the cotyledon stage and young seedling stage, ensure sufficient light, and at the same time control the daytime temperature at 20°C-25°C, the nighttime temperature at 15°C-18°C, and the soil temperature at 20°C-23°C. In order to increase the occurrence of lateral root groups and cultivate strong seedlings, promptly move the seedlings and water thoroughly. Standards for strong seedlings: plant height 21-23 cm, stem diameter about 1 cm, 4-5 true leaves, petiole forming a 45-degree angle with the stem, seedling age 25-30 days.

III. Planting

1. Land preparation and fertilization

In order to create a soil environment rich in organic matter, loose, and with good permeability, attention should be paid to the application of high-quality organic fertilizer. 10-15 days before planting, apply 6000-7500 kg of decomposed high-quality barnyard manure per mu, mixed with 500-1000 kg of decomposed chicken manure and 40-50 kg of superphosphate, then plow deeply and rake level after fertilization. In order to increase the temperature inside the greenhouse, the film should be covered 15 days before planting.