Tips for watermelon cultivation

1、 Make the root vine stronger

1. Root cutting: when the 4 ~ 5 true leaves of watermelon have not creeping growth, the spade can be used to insert directly 13 cm away from the root of watermelon, or plough deeply, but the main root cannot be damaged. The main purpose is to cut off the lateral roots. When watermelon enters the stage of vine extension, the lateral roots will be cut off to make fibrous roots grow healthily and form a huge root system. Although the extension of vine was inhibited, it prevented the overgrowth and slender of melon and vine, and laid a good foundation for flowering and fruiting.

2. Adverse pressure: watermelon growth is too strong, the use of reverse pressure. Dig a 7-10 cm deep pit and push the melon vine toward the root of the pit. It can control the vigorous length and increase the fruit setting rate by arching the vine at the back, then filling it with soil and compacting it.

3. Rattan holding: when the second or third female flower appears, in order to make it sit and grow large, it can be used. Use two pieces of wood about 7cm in oil pan to fry the edge. Hold the rattan on a finger high above the ground, flatten the vascular bundles continuously with the rattan, and do not hurt the skin and bones.

4. Lift the stem: if you want the young melon to sit stably, lift it vigorously on the vine behind the young melon, and you will hear a "click". "There's a crackle in the back and melons in the front."

5. Pinching the tip of the head: when the watermelon enters the expansion stage, the vine in front of the melon should be properly restrained, and the vigorous growth of the watermelon should not be allowed, otherwise, the nutrition will be wasted and the melon expansion will be affected. Pan tou pinching is to pull back the vines in front of the melon, circle it on the side of the watermelon, and pinch the tip of the rattan.

2、 Make the shape and color of melon better

Turn melon, vertical melon, shady melon: turned watermelon has no Yin and Yang, the whole color is the same, sugar content is even, avoid insect bite, improve commodity. Turning melon should move along the vascular bundle on the fruit stalk, and should not be forced to twist. On a sunny afternoon, hold the fruit tail with one hand and the top of the fruit with the other hand, gently twist, turning 3-7 cm at a time. Every other day, 3-4 times. It can also be turned every 7-8 days, 2-3 times. Turn melon along the same direction, turning angle should not be too large. Vertical melon is to erect the fruit a few days before harvest, which is conducive to round fruit shape and good coloring of melon skin. Shady melon is covered with grass on the surface of melon. The hot sun in summer makes it easy to burn. Cover the melon with grass to avoid direct exposure to the sun.

3、 Maturity discrimination and harvest

The key of watermelon harvest is to master the maturity accurately. Timely picking, so that the highest sugar content of watermelon, the best taste. The quality of watermelon will be affected by over ripening and over ripening, which is a matter of great concern to producers, operators and consumers. The maturity of watermelon can be judged by the following methods.

1. Calculation method. The days after flowering or accumulated temperature were calculated. Under certain climatic conditions, the days from female flower opening to fruit ripening are basically fixed, and the accumulated temperature required is the same. It takes 25-26 days for super early maturing varieties and 700 ℃ for accumulated temperature from flowering to maturity; 800-900 ℃ for 30-35 days for early and middle maturing varieties; 1000 ℃ for over 40 days for late maturing varieties. The accumulated temperature can be calculated by adding up the daily average temperature, or by multiplying the daily average temperature by the number of days with meteorological data. The higher the daily average temperature, the less days from flowering to maturity. The number of days required for ripening of melons grown at different times on the same watermelon plant was also different.

2. Visual inspection. Look at the fruit appearance and bristle tendrils. The fruit surface showed the inherent skin color, reticulate or stripe morphological characteristics. The mature melon has clear veins, deep and light, slightly contracted base of fruit stalk, inward depression of navel, and yellowing of landing position; under normal conditions of plant growth, the tendrils of fruit setting node and before and after withered, and the bristles of fruit stalk were sparse, indicating that the fruit was mature.

3. Hand measurement. Flick the melon with your fingers or pat and touch the melon with your palm. It is a ripe melon that has voiced sound. It's called "raw melon". When touching the rind with your hand, the ripe melon is slippery, and the raw one is astringent. One hand holds the melon, and the other hand gently taps on the melon. If the palm of the holding melon slightly vibrates and the melon emits a thumping murmur, it is a ripe melon. If the hand holding the melon does not feel shaking and makes a clattering sound, it belongs to raw melon. Squeeze both ends of the fruit with both hands at the same time, and put it in the ear to listen. If there is a hissing sound of cracking, it is a ripe melon. The weight of raw watermelon is heavier than that of mature watermelon, and that of over ripe watermelon is lighter than that of mature watermelon. For those who have experience, the identification method of "over hand holding melon" can be used, that is, the watermelon with better maturity is the one with slightly lighter weight when holding the second-hand melon.

The maturity of watermelon harvest should also be determined according to the market situation. 90% of mature melons can be harvested in the morning of the same day, and 70% of mature melons can be harvested from distant markets to make them continue to mature during transportation. When harvesting, cut off the fruit stalk with sickle or scissors to avoid damaging the vine and affecting the growth of the back face melon.