What causes deformed melon fruit? Causes and control methods
Melon flesh is delicate and sweet, a fruit suitable for all ages, and extremely popular in the market. However, during cultivation, due to the growing environment and improper management, the melon fruit grows deformed, seriously affecting the marketable rate and reducing growers' income. So what causes deformed fruit in melons? How should it be controlled? Let's take a look at the detailed introduction.
1. Flat fruit
Flat fruit is caused by the young fruit failing to fully develop longitudinally in the early stage of growth. The main reason is insufficient plant nutrition, which results in small leaves; because the fruit has no adequate nutrient supply, its growth is hindered. In addition, during the fruiting period, low or high temperatures in the growing environment can also cause flat fruit; controlling water before flowering and then applying large amounts of water later can also cause melons to form flat fruit.
Control methods: Apply fertilizer in time to provide what the plant needs for growth, so that it has sufficient nutrients to grow and bear fruit normally; improve the temperature of the growing environment, keeping the temperature at 23-34 degrees when the fruit first begins to grow and develop, and keeping the temperature at 27-30 degrees during the rapid expansion stage; pay attention to the watering method during the flowering period, and excessive water control is not advisable.
2. Long fruit
This is the opposite of flat fruit. It is caused by the fruit's longitudinal diameter being greater than its transverse diameter during growth. The leaves are relatively large and photosynthesis is strong, so the synthesized nutrients are abundant, causing the fruit to grow too fast in the early stage. In the later stage, due to premature aging of the plant or withering of the leaves, nutrients drop sharply, forming long melons.
Control methods: Strengthen fertilizer and water management of the plant to prevent premature aging due to lack of nutrients, strengthen leaf management to prevent pests and diseases from damaging the leaves, and strengthen light exposure so that the leaves can continuously synthesize nutrients.
3. Small fruit
Small fruit shows no obvious difference in appearance from normal fruit, but its weight is far lighter than normal fruit. Generally, after growth and maturity, any fruit weighing no more than 200 grams is considered a small fruit. The main reason is weak plant growth, plus fewer leaves, which cannot synthesize enough nutrients for the growth of the plant and fruit; in addition, when the plant bears too many fruits, the nutrients are too dispersed, which can also form small fruit; excessive plant nutrition causing the optimal fruit-setting time to be missed leads to insufficient fruit nutrition and causes small fruit.
Control methods: Strengthen fertilizer and water management during early growth to make the plant grow robustly. When the plant is growing too weakly, remove some fruits so that the remaining fruits have enough nutrients to grow; use artificial supplementary pollination to promote fruit setting.
4. Cracked fruit
Cracked fruit refers to cracks on the surface of the melon. These cracks are large and deep, and in severe cases can split the entire melon into two halves, seriously affecting quality. The cause is that the fruit skin becomes too hardened; exposure to intense sun in clear weather and excessive watering during the rainy season can both cause cracked fruit.
Control methods: Choose varieties with fewer cracked fruits for planting, water and irrigate reasonably, water less or not at all during the fruit expansion stage, drain promptly and prevent waterlogging during the rainy season to avoid excessive water accumulation around the roots, and provide timely shading when the sunlight is strong to prevent direct sunlight from hitting the fruit.
The above are the causes of deformed fruit in melons and the control methods. We hope this helps you. To learn more about melon cultivation knowledge, please stay tuned to us.