The melon is sweet and juicy, fragrant and delicious, and it is a good product for people to cool off in summer and autumn. Therefore, melon cultivation is more common, some are planted in the open field, and some are grown in sheds. In recent years, there has been a debate about whether seedling transplanting is better or live broadcast. The traditional planting of melons is the direct seeding of dry seeds, and the modern greenhouse planting is mostly seedling transplanting. From the perspective of high yield, find out which planting method is conducive to high yield, and find out the measures to increase the yield of planting melons. Let's talk about my opinions on this aspect in combination with my own practice.
First, the growth characteristics of melon roots.
The root of the melon is a straight root system and consists of the taproot, lateral roots at various levels, and root hairs. The function of the main lateral root of melon is to expand the range of the root system in the soil, elongate and fix the plant. The root hairs that grow on the lateral roots at all levels are the main bioactive part of the root system, and the root hairs are white, with short life span and fast renewal.
Melon has a well-developed root system, second only to pumpkin and watermelon. The taproot of melon can penetrate 1 meter into the soil, the lateral root is 2 3 meters long, the total length of the main lateral root is about 32 meters, and the root hairs of most of the lateral roots are concentrated within 30 cm of the soil surface. In addition to the root system formed by the radicle mentioned above, adventitious roots also grow when the stems of melons grow on the creeping ground. Adventitious roots are about 30 cm in length, and they can also absorb water and nutrients, and can also hold branches in place.
The root system of melon is highly aerobic, which requires good soil structure, rich organic matter, and good aeration. The pH of the soil in which the melon roots grow is 6 68, but the melon root system adapts to the range of soil pH is wider, especially the alkaline adaptability is strong, and the melon root system can also grow under the alkaline condition of pH value of 8.
Second, the advantages and disadvantages of direct seeding and seedling transplanting.
Direct seeding refers to the direct sowing of seeds in the field, and the advantages of direct seed sowing are simple, time-saving, labor-saving, and avoid the damage caused to the root system of young seedlings at the seedling stage during the transplanting process. The root system is well developed, the root is deep, the plant does not senescence prematurely in the middle and late stages, and the melon setting time is long and large. However, direct seeding requires good soil conditions, good drainage, high quality of land preparation, good soil moisture, and can achieve full seedlings at one time.
The disadvantage of live seeding is that the seedling stage has poor ability to resist bad weather and diseases and insects, which is easy to cause lack of seedlings and broken ridges, and the melon setting time is slightly delayed compared with seedling transplanting.
Transplanting refers to the planting of young seedlings into the field. First, the seeds are raised at the seedling stage under warm and humid conditions, and when the young seedlings grow to a certain size, transplanting is carried out at the seedling stage. The transplanting time is generally carried out after the temperature tends to stabilize and the frost damage and frost damage is over. At the same time, transplanting is also conducive to optimizing the planting density, prolonging the growth period, and setting melons early, so that the yield and quality of melons can be improved.
Disadvantages, due to careless transplanting, it is easy to hurt the taproot, the root expansion range is limited, and the plants in the middle and late stages are prone to premature senescence. Seedling raising requires a certain amount of economic and manual input, which increases the input cost.
3. Opinions. Through the above analysis, it can be seen that each has its own advantages and disadvantages, weighing the pros and cons, I think, the specific way to use to grow melons, according to the scale of planting, the natural conditions of the location and the scale of planting. If you plant a small amount for your own consumption, then there is no need to spend manpower and financial resources to raise seedlings, just sow seeds! On the contrary, large-scale planting, for the purpose of profit, in order to go to market in the morning, it is worth spending a certain amount of investment in seedlings to achieve the highest profit. Another example is the southern region, the temperature is suitable, there is no need to raise seedlings, and it is possible to sow directly, because the melon plants grow robustly after live broadcasting, do not senescence prematurely, and the harvest period is long, which is conducive to high yield.
Finally, it is reminded that when transplanting, we must pay attention to the integrity of the root system and prevent damage to the roots. In the middle and late stages of growth, measures are taken to prevent premature aging and prolong the time of melon setting.