Key Cultivation and Management Techniques for Sweet Pear Melon

I. Seed Selection

Choose varieties such as Baisha Mi, Yunmi No. 1, and Japanese Sweet Pear Melon. Individual melons weigh 300-500 grams, with high sugar content, rich and sweet flavor, attractive appearance, and strong disease resistance in the plants.

II. Seedling Raising

1. According to the cultivation season and method, choose open-field arched sheds or greenhouse seedling raising. For plastic film mulching and open-field cultivation, use cold frames for seedling raising. The sowing period is from late February to mid-March. Generally, nutrient pots are used for seedling raising. Fill the nutrient pots with nutrient soil, place them in the seedling shed, and water thoroughly.

2. Soak seeds in a 500-600 times dilution of 50% carbendazim for 30 minutes, remove and rinse with clean water, then soak for 4-6 hours. Wrap in a damp cloth and place at 25-30°C for germination. Sow when 80% of seeds have sprouted.

3. Sow on a sunny day, placing 1-2 seeds per pot, cover with 1 cm of bed soil, and cover with plastic film to retain warmth and moisture. To avoid seedling damage from the plastic film, generally do not water when seedlings emerge. If the bed soil appears dry, spray water with a watering can on a sunny morning.

4. Ventilate to remove excess moisture and control temperature well. During the seedling stage, maintain 25-30°C during the day and 15-20°C at night. When seedlings reach 10-12 cm in height with 3 leaves and 1 heart leaf, lower the temperature to around 20°C during the day for hardening off, in preparation for transplanting.

III. Transplanting

Sweet pear melon should not be planted in continuous cropping. Before transplanting, deeply plow the land and apply heavy base fertilizer, mainly high-quality organic fertilizer supplemented with chemical fertilizer. Avoid chlorine-containing fertilizers. Generally, apply 5000 kg of high-quality organic fertilizer, 2 kg of nitrogen fertilizer, 5 kg of phosphorus fertilizer, and 4 kg of potassium fertilizer per 667 sq m. Mix thoroughly, then broadcast 60% and apply 40% in concentrated furrows. Open furrows at 80 cm for wide rows and 60 cm for narrow rows, water, and let dry. Form ridges 30 cm wide and 15 cm high, cover with film, and build a shed. After 5 days of film covering, select seedlings with well-developed roots and robust growth for transplanting. Plant spacing is about 35 cm. Plant seedlings in water, cover with soil after water seeps in, and press the film openings firmly with soil.

IV. Management

1. After transplanting, keep the shed closed to retain warmth, maintaining 25-30°C during the day and 15-20°C at night. Five days after transplanting, on a sunny day, water once along the furrow to help seedlings recover. Generally, do not water before fruit set. Maintain relative humidity at 60%-70%. Adjust ventilation of the shed according to temperature and humidity.

2. Sweet pear melon can be grown on trellises or allowed to trail on the ground, depending on the cultivation method. For trellis cultivation, begin when the main vine has 6-7 leaves. As the vine extends, prune and remove side branches. Select and keep 2-3 side vines at nodes 12-16 for fruit set, and remove all other side vines. After fruit set, pinch off the growing tip leaving 2 leaves.

3. Sweet pear melon is a cross-pollinated crop. In sheds without insect pollination, manual pollination is needed. Choose a sunny morning between 7-10 AM. Take freshly opened male flowers and dab the stamens onto the stigma of female flowers. Each male flower can pollinate 3-4 female flowers. In cloudy weather, on the day female flowers open, dip flowers in Zuogualing (fruit-setting hormone), or spray flowers with 10 mg/kg of 4-CPA (fruit-setting hormone). When young melons grow to the size of a walnut, thin the fruits.

4. When melons grow to the size of a walnut, water once for fruit swelling, applying 2 kg of nitrogen fertilizer per 667 sq m with the water. After each subsequent fruit set, apply 2 kg of nitrogen fertilizer and 2 kg of potassium sulfate. Spray 0.2% monopotassium phosphate on leaves 2-3 times. Stop watering 10 days before harvesting the first crop of melons, and resume watering after harvest.

V. Pest and Disease Control

Sweet pear melon has strong disease resistance. For powdery mildew, spray with 20% triadimefon. For downy mildew, use chlorothalonil smoke fumigation or spray with 5% chlorothalonil dust. For gummy stem blight, spray with a 500 times dilution of 50% thiophanate-methyl. For fusarium wilt, drench roots with a 350 times dilution of 60% fosetyl-aluminum. For aphids, use 22% dichlorvos smoke fumigation or spray with a 1500 times dilution of 10% imidacloprid powder.

VI. Harvest

Harvest when the melon skin turns white and the navel area has a fragrant aroma.