How to Prevent Melon Fruit Cracking? Detailed Guide to Crack Prevention Methods in Hot Weather
Melon cultivation is very common in our country, and melon growing is also very common. When growing melons, we need to pay attention to good management to avoid problems such as fruit cracking that affect yield. This is especially true in hot weather, when you must be extra careful, or a moment of carelessness can cause the melons to crack. So how do you prevent melon fruit cracking in hot weather? Below, the editor gives a brief introduction for everyone. Let's take a look!
1. Reasonable watering
In hot weather, watering is very important and is also an effective way to lower the temperature. However, when watering, we must be sure to control the watering time and the amount of water. When watering, we should not only supply enough water for the melons to expand and ensure the fruits expand normally, but also be careful not to water too much when watering for fruit expansion, so as to avoid the fruits absorbing too much water and splitting. Especially in the about 10 days before harvest, it is best not to water, to prevent fruit cracking.
2. Use expansion agents with caution
Many people, when growing melons, habitually use plant growth regulators such as forchlorfenuron to dip flowers during the flowering period. This habit is fine, but many people also apply expansion agents after dipping the flowers. In fact, there is no need to apply expansion agents after dipping the flowers, because melons have their own growth and development patterns. As long as management is normal and fertilizer and water are well controlled, melons can grow normally even without using hormones such as expansion agents.
3. Reasonable fertilization
In hot weather, because the temperature is high and the light is strong, water and nutrients are lost relatively quickly. Therefore, we must also pay attention to good fertilization work. If fertilizer is not applied in time, the melons are very likely to crack due to a lack of nutrients. Especially in the middle and late stages of melon growth, be sure to fertilize in time, with particular attention to increasing the application of calcium fertilizer and boron fertilizer, to meet the nutritional needs of melon fruiting and expansion and reduce melon fruit cracking.
4. Protect the leaves
Hot weather generally refers mostly to summer. In summer, the light intensity is very high. If it shines directly on the fruit, it is very unfavorable to the growth and development of the fruit and can easily cause sunscald in the fruit and lead to fruit cracking. So in summer we should pay attention to protecting the leaves around the fruit. Use these leaves to shade the fruit. At the same time, grass or leaves can also be placed over the fruit to prevent the fruit skin from aging and hardening.
5. Supplement trace elements
Throughout the entire growth period, melons have a relatively large demand for trace elements. Therefore, we must also pay attention to supplementing the melons with sufficient trace elements. After the melons begin to set fruit, combine watering with spraying an appropriate amount of foliar fertilizers such as calcium chloride and boric acid solution. Spray about once every week or so, and after about three consecutive sprays, the melons can be supplemented with trace elements and avoid fruit cracking caused by insufficient trace elements.
The above is a brief introduction to preventing melon fruit cracking in hot weather. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!