Planting methods and management techniques of greenhouse watermelon

Watermelon is a fruit that many of our friends love to eat. In addition to being cultivated in the open field, it can also be cultivated in greenhouses . Greenhouse cultivation can optimize many problems that exist in open-field watermelon cultivation . Let’s learn about the planting methods and management techniques of greenhouse watermelons .

1. Transplant at the right time

20-30 days after grafting, when the seedlings grow to 3 leaves and 1 heart, they can be transplanted.

2. Prevent self-rooting

When transplanting, the interface should be about 1 cm above the ground and covered with mulch. Cover the creeping bed with straw to prevent the scion from taking root and the plant from being infected with diseases.

3. Appropriate sparse planting

The grafted rootstock has a strong root system, strong absorption capacity, and vigorous plant growth. Therefore, the planting should be appropriately sparse, with the row spacing maintained at 2m x 1m, and 300-350 plants planted per mu.

4. Reasonable pruning

Carry out three-vine pruning, leave single melons, and promptly remove melons within 8 nodes. Select the second or third normally developed melon, leave 1-2 melons on each plant, and perform artificial assisted pollination.

5. Control growth in the early stage

Grafted seedlings grow vigorously. After applying enough base fertilizer, topdressing should be applied flexibly according to the growth of the plants. After the vines have stretched, the first topdressing and watering should be carried out, with 30 kg of compound fertilizer applied per mu. Half a month after flowering, the fruit growth accelerates. When the diameter of the melon reaches 15 cm, the second topdressing is carried out in combination with watering, with 15-20 kg of compound fertilizer per mu.

6. Water management

The soil humidity in the greenhouse is relatively high, and the stems and leaves tend to grow too tall. Therefore, less watering should be done in the early stage, and watering should be done after the fruits set. After entering the maturity period, it is necessary to control the moisture to facilitate fruit coloring, increase the sugar content of the fruit, and accelerate the ripening of the fruit.

7. Artificial assisted pollination

Greenhouse-grown watermelons require artificial assisted pollination, usually at 10 a.m. Choose large male flowers with the stamens exposed, and gently rub them on the stigma of the female flower so that the pollen falls evenly on the stigma. In case of low temperatures or bad weather, you can pick the male flowers in advance, put them in a sealed container, maintain the room temperature at 25°C, and pollinate them after they bloom in the morning. After pollination, mark the flowering date so that the melons can be picked in time.

8. Disease and pest control

Grafting can prevent watermelon wilt, but attention should still be paid to crop arrangement and rotation years to prevent damage caused by continuous cropping and other diseases. Therefore, comprehensive agricultural disease prevention measures are needed for watermelon grafting, and the role of pesticide control cannot be ignored.

9. Temperature and humidity management in the greenhouse

Temperature management: Do not ventilate after transplanting and before seedlings grow, and keep warm. After the seedlings have grown, the daytime temperature should be maintained at 20℃-35℃ and not lower than 10℃ at night. During the flowering period, the greenhouse temperature should be maintained at 20℃-28℃ during the day, the ground temperature should be above 15℃, and not lower than 5℃ at night. After the melons are firmly set, the temperature is maintained at 30℃-35℃ to increase the fruit setting rate.

Light management: Watermelon likes light. If you use non-drip-free film, you should try to remove water droplets on the film surface every morning, or spray a water-repellent agent on the dry film surface when covering the shed to enhance light transmittance.

The above is an introduction to the cultivation techniques and management points of greenhouse watermelons. If you want to use greenhouses to grow watermelons, you can refer to it.