How to cultivate and manage pumpkins to achieve high yields (pumpkin planting methods and cultivation techniques)

As a crop, pumpkin also has certain growth rules. To achieve the growth, flowering and fruiting of pumpkin, various environmental conditions are indispensable. Therefore, there are certain time rules for pumpkin planting. If you want to grow good pumpkins, you must follow the natural laws of pumpkin existence.

When to plant pumpkins

Pumpkins are sown in spring from January to March and in autumn from July to August. Spring planting is done by seedling transplanting, while autumn planting is done by direct seeding.

Pumpkin scientific planting technology

1. Pumpkin Planting Garden Construction

You should choose a plot with higher terrain, good drainage, loose soil and good air permeability, preferably sandy loam and light loam. It is not suitable to plant pumpkins in low-lying and waterlogged plots.

The soil should be slightly acidic, with a pH between 5.5 and 6.8. Avoid planting it with Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae crops in succession to prevent serious soil-borne diseases.

Land preparation should be meticulous. Before land preparation, apply 3,000 to 5,000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure and 20 kg of diammonium phosphate per 667 square meters. If conditions permit, you can also apply biological fertilizer.

2. Planting pumpkins

The sowing period is determined according to the specific conditions of the year and the local area. The basic principle is to avoid the final frost when the seedlings emerge from the soil and sow the germinated seeds.

In the Yangtze River Basin, it is generally from February to April. Early sowing uses a hotbed or cold bed to raise seedlings. After mid- to late March, it can be directly sown after germination. In South China, sowing can be done from February to September. It is mainly divided into spring sowing from February to March and autumn sowing from August to September.

Specific approach

Soak the seeds in 55 to 60℃ hot water for 15 minutes to kill the bacteria on the surface of the seed coat. Then pour in cold water to cool to 30℃, soak for another 4 to 6 hours, take out, wrap with wet gauze or towel, and place at 25 to 30℃ to germinate until the seeds are about 0.3 cm in diameter before sowing.

The soil can be dug at a plant spacing of 50 cm, with one ridge left empty, so that the plant spacing is 50×120 cm, which is conducive to ventilation, light transmission and disease prevention.

First water the paddy field, and after the water seeps in, place 2 seeds flat on each paddy field with the sprouts facing downward, and cover with 2 to 3 cm of fine soil. If conditions permit, cover with plastic film. In fact, when planting pumpkins, the row spacing is large and little plastic film is used, with an investment of only more than 10 yuan per mu.

However, when covering the ground with film, the clods must be broken up so that the film sticks tightly to the ridge surface, is stretched tight on all sides, and is pressed into the soil, otherwise the effect of the film will not be obvious.

Generally, watering is not required during the seedling stage. When the melon seedlings grow to 3 true leaves, choose large seedlings with strong plants and complete cotyledons, leave one plant in each plot, and cut the rest from the ground.

Artificial pollination and vine pressing of pumpkin

After the melon vine grows, the first sub-vine grows to the seventh node. When the four sub-vines grow to the ninth node, the first female flower is usually produced. After the female petals unfold, the stigma of the pistil can receive pollen for fertilization.

At this time, every morning from 5 to 9 am, we go deep into the field to manually pick the core of the newly opened male flower and gently rub it against the pistil to make the pollen adhere to the stigma of the pistil. Each male stamen can only adhere to 2-3 pistils.

Be sure to choose 5-9 am every day, because this is the time when the stamens and pistils grow most vigorously, with a high fertilization rate and strong vitality. If each pistil is continuously pollinated for two days, 100% pregnancy can be achieved.

After artificial pollination of the female flowers, the petals begin to wilt and close, proving that pregnancy has occurred. A small pile of soil is pressed on the front section of each melon to allow the sub-vines to be in close contact with the ground, grow secondary roots, and provide the sub-vines with water and nutrients.

When pressing the vines, it is best to leave the melons on the top of the ridge or pile up a small mound of soil and leave the melons on it to prevent diseases and rot caused by excessive rain later .

Pumpkin Harvest

The main purpose of open-field cultivation is to harvest old melons, and some young fruits can also be picked and put on the market according to market demand. In protected areas, young melons can be harvested in the early stage and old melons can be harvested in the later stage. Early-maturing pumpkins can be harvested 40-45 days after planting.

It takes about 25 days from the opening of the female flowers to the harvest of the first tender melon in early spring . As the temperature rises, it can be harvested 18 days after the female flowers open.

When harvesting young fruits, you should avoid damaging the vines and leaves. The harvesting standard is that the melons have grown to the size of the variety and their skin and flesh have not yet aged.

It is worth mentioning that early harvesting of young fruits at low nodes is beneficial to plant growth, increasing the number of fruits and improving yield.

Depending on the variety, old melons will take 30-60 days to reach physiological maturity after flowering.

Its main characteristics are that the wax powder on the peel becomes thicker, the skin color changes from green to yellow or orange, the fruit skin becomes hard, and it is not easy to break when carved with fingernails. Old melons should be harvested in the morning on a sunny day and cut along the fruit stalk.

Chinese pumpkin and Indian pumpkin can be harvested both young and old. Young pumpkins contain more vitamin C and are tender and delicious. Old pumpkins contain more sugar and starch and have a long storage period.

Standards for testing whether melons are ripe

It is determined based on hardness, wax powder, color, etc. Generally, if the skin is not scratched, the wax powder is thick, there are obvious cracks on the stem, and the color becomes darker, it has reached the mature level. The harvesting standard is determined according to the eating habits and market demand of various places.

【 Summarize 】

The planting time of pumpkin is very important. Planting at the right time can help the pumpkin take root, sprout, bloom and bear fruit smoothly.

In addition, some manual assistance is also very important. In addition to artificial pollination, weeding, fertilization, etc. are also very important. In addition, reasonable harvesting time and methods are also necessary.