Detailed Explanation and Application of the New Muskmelon-Rice Multiple Cropping Technique
I. First Crop Muskmelon
1. Seed selection and land preparation: Choose high-yield, high-quality muskmelon varieties with a growing period of about 90 days, such as Chaozhao Tangwang and Hongchengcui No. 1. Before the ground freezes the previous year, plow the paddy field well, harrow, press and form ridges with a ridge spacing of 50-60 cm, and press firmly to preserve soil moisture. Along with land preparation, apply 5000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure per mu.
2. Seedling raising and transplanting: Soak seeds to promote germination in late February, raise seedlings in a greenhouse in late February to early March. You may use seedbed seedling raising followed by pricking out into seedling bowls, or directly raise seedlings in seedling bowls. For planting melons in the main field, transplant the melon seedlings into the main field before April 15. Before transplanting, install one medium tunnel over every 3 ridges in the main field, with a tunnel height of 1.3-1.5 m. Cover the two outer ridges of the 3 ridges with plastic film, punch holes and plant the melons, and leave the middle ridge as an empty ridge (working path). When planting melons, apply 25-30 kg of complete-element fertilizer per mu. Maintain 2000 plants per mu.
3. Field management: Carry out field management promptly after planting. Do not water unless dry, and remove weeds promptly. After flowering, dip flowers with "Zuoguoling" to help fruit set. Leave only 3-4 melons per plant, and the first crop of melons can be marketed by the end of May. Each plant can produce 0.75-1 kg of melons, ensuring a melon yield of more than 1500 kg per mu. Remember that too many fruits must not be left on each plant, to avoid delayed ripening of the melons, which would affect the market price and also affect the rice transplanting period. Other management is the same as for open-field melon management.
II. Second Crop Rice
1. Seedling raising: Choose rice varieties such as Qiuguang or glutinous rice (such as Hunuo) with a growth period of about 130 days. Raise seedlings in late April, sow sparsely to grow strong seedlings. The sowing rate is 200 g per sq m. Adopt dry seedling raising and dry management to control excessive seedling growth.
2. Transplanting: The muskmelons are cleared from the field around June 15, so soak and prepare the field promptly; finish transplanting before June 20. The spacing between plants and rows is 30 cm x 10 cm, with 5-7 seedlings per hill.
3. Management: Manage promptly after transplanting. Fertilization should be heavy early and light later, and irrigation should combine dry and wet conditions to prevent the seedlings from staying green and ripening late. Other management is the same as for normal paddy fields. Plots using muskmelon-rice multiple cropping cannot be continuously cropped, otherwise yield and quality will be affected.
III. Benefit Analysis
In 2007, the average muskmelon yield of the first crop in Liaoyang City was 1680 kg per mu, with an average price of 2.7 yuan per kg, giving a total income of 4536 yuan per mu for the first crop. After deducting 1200 yuan in costs, the net income of the first crop was 3336 yuan per mu. The average yield of the second crop rice was estimated at 400 kg per mu. Calculated at a market price of 2 yuan per kg, the total income was 800 yuan. After deducting 280 yuan in costs, the net income of the second crop was 520 yuan per mu. The total income of the two crops was 5336 yuan, the total cost of the two crops was 1480 yuan, and the net income of the two crops was 3856 yuan.