How many watermelon seedlings are there per acre?

Watermelon is a commonly grown fruit. Planting watermelon requires certain conditions and techniques. The number and distance of plants must be controlled to achieve a good harvest. So how many watermelon seedlings are there per acre? Let’s learn more about it below.

How many watermelon seedlings are there per acre?

The planting density of watermelon varies according to the variety and soil fertility. It is appropriate to plant about 450 plants per acre. For medium-growing varieties, about 500 plants are appropriate. When planting, the row spacing for open field cultivation is generally 60-80 cm, and the row spacing for vertical grid cultivation is 50-100 cm.

Precautions for planting watermelon seedlings

1. Planting time

Planting is generally divided into open field planting and small greenhouse planting. Let’s talk about field planting first. It is necessary to avoid the late frost period. In general areas, the frost ends during the Qingming Festival, which means that watermelons should be planted in early April. For a kind of watermelon grown in facilities, the method of mulching and arch shed is used. The planting time should be about 30 days earlier than that of open field. In general areas, it is planted in early or mid-March.

2. Pay attention to training seedlings

In order to increase the stress resistance of the melon seedlings, they should be hardened one week before transplanting. Choose a sunny day with higher temperature to water the seedbed thoroughly, increase the ventilation of the seedbed, and keep the temperature of the seedbed at 20-22℃. When the temperature is above 25 degrees, all the coverings of the seedbed can be removed to harden the seedlings. Open the ventilation on both sides of the seedbed at night to keep the bed temperature at 18-20℃. When the night temperature is stable above 18℃, the seedbed cover can be completely uncovered at night. If you encounter cold currents, strong winds, rainfall, etc. during the seedling hardening period, you should cover the seedbed with straw to prevent it from getting wet.

3. Apply sufficient base fertilizer

Before planting the watermelon seedlings, the land should be prepared well, and deep plowing and tillage should be carried out during the land preparation, combined with base fertilizer application. Choose well-rotted farmyard manure or poultry manure as the base fertilizer. No matter which kind of fertilizer is used, it must be fully decomposed before application. Generally, 3 to 5 cubic meters of organic fertilizer are applied per mu, including 100 kilograms of cake fertilizer. Applying cake fertilizer can increase the organic matter content in the soil and increase the sweetness of watermelon. In addition, 80 to 100 kilograms of low-nitrogen compound fertilizer should be applied per mu, and appropriate trace elements should be added. This measure should be completed 10 days before planting to allow the fertilizer and soil to be fully integrated.

4. Control the temperature

The time for transplanting to the open field should be after the last frost in the local area, the soil temperature should not be lower than 15℃, and the air temperature should not be lower than 18℃. Whether planting in the open field or in a facility, it is best to choose a sunny day with a high soil temperature, which is conducive to seedling growth and the germination of new roots.

5. Planting depth

The planting hole should be larger and deeper than the nutrient pot. You can fill the hole with some fine soil so that the seedling soil and field soil can be closely combined to avoid leaving the nutrient pot in the air. The planting depth should be 1 cm below the surface of the pot soil. Too deep will affect soil warming and air permeability, while too shallow will not be easy to retain moisture, both of which will affect the root development of the melon seedlings.

That’s it