2023/11/10
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Specialty vegetable crops

Technical Development

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Organic Little Sweet Melons

Growing Little Sweet Melons 
Cultivation Environment : These melons like a warm, sunny and dry environment. Suitable growing temperatures range between 25 and 30 ℃. The best soil is richly organic sandy loam with slight acidity (pH value between 6.0 and 6.8), good drainage and ventilation.
Planting and Spacing :

Cultivation by transplanting of seedlings is preferable. The seedlings can be transplanted when coming into 3 true leaves (about 12 to 15 days).

Plant and row spacing should be about 60 cm and 120 cm respectively.

Application of Fertilizer and Management:

Basal dressing: Apply 1,000 kg of compost, 50 kg of peanut cake meal, 50 kg of bone meal and 16 kg of chitogreen to each d.c.

Top dressing: One week after planting, apply properly diluted organic liquid fertilizer (N:P:K = 7:1:1 or 5:1:1). Repeat once every week until the fruits are fully developed. During the growing period of seedlings, flowering period and fruiting period, apply 30 g of organic fertilizer (N:P:K = 4:3:3), 8 g of bone meal and 8 g of natural potassium fertilizer (50 % K2O) to the soil beside the plants.

Irrigation: Maintain suitable moisture in the soil between the growing period of seedlings and flowering period. Use less water when young fruits begin to appear. More water is needed for full development of the fruits, but reduce moisture when the fruits begin to mature.

Plant adjustment: Tertiary vines are generally selected for fruit retention. Conduct pinching when 3 to 4 leaves appear on the main vine. Select 2 of the strongest secondary vines. For each selected secondary vine, remove all the tertiary vines below the 8th node and select 2 tertiary vines above the 9th node for fruiting. Each fruiting vine should retain 1 fruit and each plant 4 fruits. Pinch the buds of the fruiting vines when 2 or 3 leaves appear. The secondary vines should also be pinched when about 20 leaves appear.

(1 d.c.= 674 square metres or 7,260 square feet)

Protection from rain and pest:

The melons do not like much moisture or rain. Proper measures must be taken to protect them from rain, flood, disease and pest. They should be grown in a greenhouse or a rainproof and pestproof shed.

Harvesting : It takes about 70 to 75 days from the seeding stage to the maturity of fruits, depending on the variety of the melons. The melons taste better 2 to 3 days after harvest.

 

 

Horticulture Section, AFCD 

 

2008

 

 

 

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