Detailed Explanation of Finger Citron Planting Techniques and Management Key Points
Finger citron planting techniques. Finger citron is mainly grown in pots, and can be planted in the ground in southern courtyards. Plant or repot and change soil before spring sprouting. The potting soil mostly uses weathered pond mud or leaf mold, or a culture soil made from decomposed chicken manure, garden soil and river sand in a 4:3:3 ratio. If using a new pot for planting, it must be soaked in clean water and then sun-dried for 2 to 3 times, and 1- to 2-year-old grafted seedlings of good varieties should be selected. When planting, retain plenty of the original root soil, damage the roots as little as possible, and plant at a depth that just covers the original root zone of the plant.
When a potted plant shows a marked decrease in new shoots and yellowing leaves, it means the root system has filled the pot, and it should be repotted or root-pruned with fresh soil in time, generally once every 2 to 3 years, carried out in March to April before the buds swell. An appropriate amount of phosphorus, potassium and calcium compound fertilizer should be added to the potting soil, or some horse-hoof slices placed at the bottom of the pot as base fertilizer, prune away 1/4 to 1/5 of the old roots, and replace 1/3 to 1/4 of the old soil. After planting, water thoroughly once and keep it in a lightly shaded place for care; once it resumes growth, move it to normal management.
The suitable growing temperature for finger citron is 25-35°C. During the growing season, except in summer when strong direct sunlight must be avoided and it should be placed in lightly shaded spots with good scattered light, it should be kept in a place with ample sunlight and good ventilation. In winter it should be moved into a greenhouse early; especially in northern regions, it must be moved into the greenhouse before Frost's Descent to prevent damage from early frost, and where there is no heating it can also be placed in a sunny spot indoors. An indoor winter temperature of 5-10°C allows normal growth; when the temperature falls below 3°C it suffers cold damage, and when it stays above 10°C for a long time it will sprout prematurely and drop fruit. Therefore, when the suitable temperature drops below 3°C, heating should be added.
After finger citron has survived planting, watering should be little but frequent. In summer, besides watering once in the morning and once in the evening, spray the leaves 2 to 3 times to increase the surrounding air humidity and benefit growth and development. After autumn begins, reduce watering appropriately to prevent leggy branches and fruit drop. After being moved indoors in winter, water once every 3 to 5 days, generally around 11 a.m., and keep the potting soil "slightly moist, mostly on the dry side"; the potting soil is best kept a little dry. When dust accumulates on the leaves, spray water to wash it off, but never spray too frequently.
Finger citron has a relatively high fertilizer requirement during the growing season, and lack of nutrients easily causes flower and fruit drop. Fertilization is divided into 4 stages: the spring shoot growth and development stage (late March to early June), when the temperature is 25-35°C, the most suitable for finger citron growth and development, buds sprout and produce a large number of branches, apply dilute cake fertilizer water once every 7 days (dilute cake fertilizer water is 500 g of cake fertilizer plus 20 kg of water, diluted with more water after decomposition) to promote growth and flower bud formation. The vigorous growth stage (mid-June to mid-July), which is the flowering and fruit-setting period, apply alum fertilizer water once every 3 to 5 days (250 g ferrous sulfate, 2,500 g cake fertilizer, plus 20 kg water, diluted with water after decomposition).
If there is rainy and continuously overcast weather, liquid fertilizer should not be used; instead, an appropriate amount of decomposed cake fertilizer residue can be buried in the pot, at the middle and lower parts of the soil near the pot edge. To promote fruit development and strong branches, spray a 0.3% monopotassium phosphate foliar fertilizer once every 7 to 10 days; do not use urea or other nitrogen fertilizers during this period. In the fruit growth period (late July to late September), apply a compound fertilizer based mainly on phosphorus and potassium and containing calcium and nitrogen about once every 10 days, to promote full coloring of the fruit. In the fruit ripening period (October), to keep the fruit hanging on the branches for a long time without dropping and to restore tree vigor, after the fruit ripens it can be applied in small amounts several times, in layers and in different directions, which to a certain extent promotes even distribution of fruiting branches, short and thick branches, and dark green, thick leaves. The above is an introduction to finger citron planting techniques.
Chayote planting techniques. Cultivation techniques for chayote
Chayote, also known as wa gua, fist melon, evergreen melon, etc., is a perennial climbing herbaceous plant of the genus Sechium in the Cucurbitaceae family. Chayote is rich in nutrients, low in calories, and has high edible value. It is suitable for eating raw, in cold dishes, stir-fried, boiled, in soup, or as filling. Chayote stores well and is easy to transport, making it an ideal green health food to fill the off-season gap for melons, fruits and vegetables in winter and spring.
Cultivation techniques for chayote
Chayote likes warmth and can tolerate relatively high temperatures; it can only grow normally above 20°C. The fruit development period requires slightly lower temperatures, and when the soil temperature is below 5°C the root system dies. Chayote is suited to relatively fertile soil with good water-holding capacity. It is fairly tolerant of fertilizer and has very strong resistance to pests and diseases.
1. Three-dimensional cultivation in vegetable fields: protected cultivation can be adopted. Chayote is intercropped and relay-cropped with vegetables such as cucumber, runner bean, tomato and pepper, using the time difference and space difference in the growth and fruiting of chayote and the intercropped vegetables, as well as the vegetables' requirements for nutrients, water, fertilizer, air and temperature, to achieve a reasonable combination and the goal of efficient three-dimensional cultivation.
2. Field planting in vegetable gardens: chayote is a shallow-rooted crop and is best grown in fertile vegetable garden soil. Around "Awakening of Insects," plant it at the same time as greenhouse cucumber, tomato and other vegetables, with the same management; generally 20 plants per mu is suitable.
Field management of chayote
1. Seedling stage: when planted in a small arch shed in the courtyard, only light watering is done at the seedling stage, and no topdressing is applied when growth is vigorous; pay attention to ventilation and light during the day, and protect against freezing at night. Chayote seedlings planted in greenhouses or plastic tunnels are watered and fertilized together with the intercropped and relay-cropped vegetables.
2. Trellising stage: chayote has a very strong ability to branch from lateral shoots. In the early stage, remove the lateral buds at the base in time. When pruning, pinch off the growing tip at about 30 cm to 50 cm on the main vine, and select 2 to 3 vigorous secondary vines per plant. When the secondary vines reach 150 cm, pinch the tips again, leaving 3 tertiary vines each. Pay attention to adjusting the trellis surface, remove tendrils in time, and according to the growth of the main vine suppress the strong and support the weak, so that they are evenly distributed on the trellis surface.
3. Flowering and fruiting stage: chayote takes about 170 days from sowing to flowering and fruiting, and tender fruit can be harvested 15 to 20 days after flowering. The fruit matures in 40 to 50 days, and each plant can yield 200 to 300 fruits. When picking, be sure to handle them gently to avoid bruising. Chayote can be marketed in the harvest season, or placed in cardboard boxes or fruit baskets lined with plastic film; at a room temperature of 10°C to 25°C, with suitable humidity and ventilation, it can be stored for 4 to 6 months without changing its flavor, remaining crisp and fresh, and is deeply loved by consumers.
How to grow chayote, chayote planting techniques
We often relay-crop some melon-type fruits in farmland, such as muskmelon, watermelon, etc. Do you know how to grow chayote? What conditions are needed? Today the Honghuo Nongzi editor will study with you how to grow chayote and chayote planting techniques.
I. What is chayote?
Chayote is a perennial herbaceous vine with tuberous roots, with climbing or artificially trellised stems that have ridges and grooves. Petioles slender, hairless, 5-15 cm long; leaf blade membranous, nearly round, the central lobe relatively large and the lateral ones smaller, apex acuminate, margin with small fine teeth, base heart-shaped, sinus relatively deep, nearly round, 1-3 cm deep, 1-2 cm wide; upper surface dark green, slightly rough, lower surface pale green, with short pubescence, denser on the veins. Tendrils stout, with ridges and grooves, hairless, 3-5 branched. Corolla same as the staminate flower with the calyx; ovary obovoid, with 5 ridges, sparsely hairy, 1-loculed, with 1 pendulous ovule, style 2-3 mm long, stigma 2 mm wide. Fruit pale green, obovoid, with sparse short stiff hairs, 8-12 cm long, 6-8 cm in diameter, with 5 longitudinal grooves on the upper part, containing 1 seed. Seed large, up to 10 cm long, 7 cm wide, ovate, flattened. Flowering period July-September, fruiting period August-October.
II. How to grow chayote, chayote planting techniques 1. Light and temperatureIn terms of biological characteristics, chayote is a short-day plant; it likes warmth, tolerates high temperatures, and is fairly shade-tolerant. It can only grow normally above 20°C, and the suitable growing temperature is 20°C-23°C. When the soil temperature is below 5°C the roots die, and above 35°C growth is clearly inhibited. Chayote leaves are large and transpiration is vigorous, so it needs more water, especially during the high-temperature period of July-August, when relatively high air humidity and soil moisture must be maintained. Chayote vines branch strongly, and secondary and tertiary vines bear many fruits; as long as water and fertilizer are sufficient, fruits set at the leaves on secondary and tertiary vines, with few gaps.
2. WaterIt has a high water requirement, especially in the high-temperature season of July-August, when relatively high humidity must be maintained in the air and soil; otherwise the vine stems stop growing and the leaves turn yellow. If soil moisture is insufficient during the flowering and fruiting period, there will be few flowers, much flower drop, a low fruit-setting rate, and small fruits.
3. SoilIt has no strict requirements for soil; deep, loose, well-drained, organic-rich, well-aerated neutral sandy loam, loam and clay loam are most suitable for growing chayote. As for fertilizer requirements, nitrogen must not be excessive, so as to avoid excessive stem and leaf growth and few fruits; in the middle and late stages, heavy application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is needed.
4. Sowing timeThe cultivation time is generally direct sowing in the open field in late April, and it can be harvested and marketed in August. When grown in a plastic tunnel or greenhouse, seedlings can be raised or direct sowing done from late February to early March.
5. Seedling raising methodA chayote fruit contains only 1 seed, and the seed coat is connected to the flesh and is not easily separated; once the seed is removed it easily shrivels and cannot germinate, so whole fruits are mostly used for sowing. The commonly used method for promoting germination is: use a sharp knife to cut a wound along the groove at the top of the fruit, so that the cotyledons can emerge easily and germination is promoted, then sow it directly into the planting hole, covering with loose soil 2-3 cm, so that 1/3 of the fruit is buried in the soil and 2/3 is exposed above the soil, to promote sprouting. After the seedlings emerge, as long as the leaves are not severely wilted, generally no more watering is done, to prevent the seed fruit from rotting or the seedlings from becoming leggy. When the seedlings are 20 cm tall, they can be planted out.
6. Planting and transplantingFor planting, 25-30 plants per mu, with a spacing of 5 m x 5 m. Dig cylindrical planting holes 70 cm deep and 1 m in diameter, apply 25 kg of organic fertilizer, 5 kg of plant ash and 2 kg of superphosphate into each hole, mix thoroughly, place the seedlings, water, and fill with soil.
7. Field managementChayote leaves are large and transpiration is vigorous, especially during the high-temperature period of July-August, when relatively high air humidity and soil moisture must be maintained. It grows poorly in drought, but waterlogging in the rainy season also easily causes root rot.
(1) Water and fertilizer management.For open-field cultivation, watering should be controlled before June; after entering July, the plants grow faster and the soil should be kept moist. Apply topdressing once after planting, and then once a month thereafter. When fertilizing, dig a ring-shaped fertilizer trench 60 cm from the plant, and apply 5 kg of human and animal manure and urine, 1 kg of superphosphate or 2 kg of compound fertilizer per plant; as the plant grows larger, the fertilizing distance gradually increases.
(2) Set up the trellis in time.Chayote is extremely climbing, and lateral branches can sprout at every node, so a trellis must be set up in time. It is best to build a flat trellis 2.5-3 m high.
(3) Keep warm for overwintering.Chayote cannot overwinter in the open field in the north. If perennial cultivation is desired, after harvesting, the vines can be kept about 3 m long and placed at the base of the plant; when winter comes, water with freezing water and cover with wheat straw to keep warm, so that it overwinters in an environment above 5°C. 6. Harvesting and storage. After sowing, chayote generally flowers in about 80 days, and can be harvested 15-20 days after flowering; it is generally suitable to harvest when a single fruit weighs 0.2-0.3 kg.
It is hoped that this article on how to grow chayote and chayote planting techniques can help friends who grow chayote. To learn more about chayote, please follow Honghuo Nongzi News.