Their distinctive feature is long stems with antennae. In the event that supports are placed next to these crops, the whips will begin to “climb” along them. In order to correctly apply the cultivation technology, which will be described below in the article, you need to know exactly which crops are melons.
These are melon, pumpkin, watermelon, squash, zucchini and some others.
Two-year-old seeds are considered the most suitable for sowing in gourds. If possible to get such planting material No, you can use annuals as well. However, in this case, they need to be heated to 60 degrees for 2 hours. In order for the seedlings to be more friendly, the seeds of gourds are also germinated. To do this, they are wrapped in gauze and lowered into warm water for four hours. Then they are placed in a damp burlap and kept for a day or two.
Most melons and gourds prefer sunny places, warm weather and are resistant to a long absence of moisture. The thing is that the homeland of all these cultures are the hot regions of the planet. Watermelons, for example, wild nature grow in South Africa, and melons and pumpkins - in Asia.
Melons not only tolerate dry air well, but also produce tastier and sweeter fruits under such conditions.
Seeds are planted in the ground only when the summer weather becomes stable, that is, in early June. In order to get a harvest a little earlier, gourds can be grown seedling way. For this, peat cups are used, because these plants do not tolerate transplantation well. Melons are planted in the ground either in a nested way or in rows. Each such plant requires a lot of space. Firstly, they have long lashes that need space for development, and secondly, they have large fruits, which is why they need great amount nutrient elements.
Melon crops are planted in 2-3 pieces. Melons and watermelons - to a depth of 4 cm, pumpkins - 6 cm. In warm weather, seedlings appear on the tenth day of sowing, and the first real leaf - a week later. Depending on the variety, the main shoot may begin to form in 15-40 days.
Then shoots of the second order, the third, etc. branch off from it. The flowers of these plants are of different sexes - both female and male specimens bloom on the same plant.
As for top dressing, during the season melons in the early stages of development can be fertilized with mullein infusion. In the autumn, after harvesting, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are applied for digging, and nitrogen fertilizers are applied in the spring when preparing the beds. Although the plants of this family are drought-resistant, they still give a higher yield when watered. During the season, the soil under them is well moistened 9-12 times. However, during the ripening of the fruit, watering the plants should be as rare as possible. Otherwise, the fruits will grow watery and not too sweet.
Growing gourds is a rather complicated matter, since the climate in Russia is not very suitable for them. Often, even with proper care, the gardener does not receive a crop. The result after all in many respects depends on weather conditions. If you still want to grow watermelons or melons on your site, then you should try to do it. If you're lucky, you can diversify your diet with delicious and unusually healthy fruits.
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Melon crops include one- or perennial plants of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), which have long outstretched or climbing stems with tendrils: watermelon, melon, pumpkin, zucchini, squash, etc. The most popular, for obvious reasons, are watermelons and melons, which are cultivated for juicy fruits, characterized by high palatability. Watermelon and melon are eaten mostly fresh as a dessert. However, jam, jam, molasses, watermelon honey (nardek, bekmes) are also made from the fruits of these gourds, candied fruit, marshmallow and pickles are prepared, they are still quite widely used in the canning and confectionery industry. From the seeds of many plants of the gourd family, valuable vegetable oil is obtained.
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In this article, we will look at seasonal business for growing watermelons. Watermelon owes its high popularity to its valuable dietary, taste and nutritional properties. Watermelon contains a large number of sucrose and fructose, which give it sweetness, and the pulp and peel of watermelon contain a variety of beneficial amino acids, macro- and micronutrients, including antioxidants, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, folic acid and sodium.
General information about watermelons
In our country, watermelons are grown on an industrial scale in the Volga region and in some areas of the southern regions, as well as in the Crimea. Watermelons are heat-loving plants that are well cultivated in the steppe climate with long, hot, dry summers, so in these regions they ripen freely in the open air, acquiring excellent taste. In the middle black earth regions of Russia, as well as in more northern regions, watermelons are usually grown not in the fields (in open ground), where they simply do not have time to ripen in a season, but in greenhouses (under a film). Watermelon has a powerful root system, which provides the plant with enough moisture and nutrients for ripening large juicy fruits. The main root of watermelon plants can penetrate the soil to a depth of up to two meters, and lateral roots form a large number of roots of the second and third orders, reaching a depth of 3-4 meters.
At first, the vegetative mass of plants develops rather slowly, since this period grows intensively. root system. But already 20-30 days after germination, the plants begin to grow actively, forming side shoots. Their growth can reach two meters in just one day. The timing of the flowering of watermelon depends on its precocity. As a rule, flowers can be observed already a month and a half after the emergence of seedlings, and flowering continues until the end of the plant's growing season.
Watermelon flowers, as a rule, are dioecious, that is, both male and female flowers can form on the same plant. In the most common varieties, however, bisexual, that is, hermaphroditic, and male flowers are more often formed, and in some species, female, male, and bisexual flowers. It is possible to distinguish female and male flowers by size: the former, as a rule, are larger, have a wide five-lobed stigma on a short style. Bisexual flowers are similar in appearance to female ones. They differ only in that they form both stamens and pistil at once. The flowers open in the morning at dawn and fade in 15-16 hours. Women's and bisexual flowers open earlier than male and, if fertilization does not occur, remain open during the next day. Male flowers fade after a few hours.
Depending on the duration of the growing season (that is, from the moment of germination to the onset of the biological maturity of the plant), varieties and hybrids of watermelon are divided into several main types: ultra-early (up to 70 days), early (71-80 days), mid-ripening (81-90 days ), medium-late (91-100 days) and late-ripening (over 100 days). Keep in mind that ultra-early and early-ripening watermelons tend to be less sugary and more watery than mid- and late-ripening ones. However, for industrial cultivation, these varieties are considered more preferable.
Watermelon fruits can vary greatly in shape, color and size. In most cases, they have an oval-round shape with an average diameter of 20-25 cm and an average weight of 3-6 kg. The surface of the watermelon bark is usually smooth, but there are also segmented fruits, and the thickness of the bark depends on the variety, cultivation method and soil quality. In most fruits, the thickness of the bark is from one to one and a half centimeters. In some varieties, the thickness of the bark does not exceed half a centimeter, and in thick-skinned watermelons it can reach 4 cm. Watermelons with an average thickness of stern of 1-1.5 cm are still the most popular. Although thick-skinned watermelons are more convenient to transport and store longer, but buyers, as a rule, they do not want to overpay for the "extra" weight of the inedible fruit bark. Thin-skinned watermelons have a very short time storage and require careful transportation.
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Watermelon flesh is usually red, but in some varieties it can be orange, yellow, or even pearly. However, experienced entrepreneurs rely mainly on traditional rather than exotic varieties. Seeds also differ in shape, color and size. They can be large, medium or small in weight from 30 to 150 grams / 1000 pieces. black, yellow, white, reddish brown or even greenish. Seed germination is usually maintained for 4-5 years.
Of all the species of these gourds, the common watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is the most widespread. It is a herbaceous annual plant with spherical, oval, cylindrical or flattened fruits with bark of various shades from white and yellow to dark green with a pattern of stripes or spots. Its flesh is usually pink, red or crimson, but there are also varieties with white or yellow flesh. The stems of this culture are thin, creeping or curly, very flexible. They can be up to four meters long. The seeds of the common watermelon are flat, often bordered, with a scar. This plant blooms throughout the summer months, while the fruits usually ripen no earlier than August-September.
Growing watermelons in open ground
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To begin, you will need to select suitable varieties for growing watermelons on melons. Approach this issue with great care. Do not pay attention to the bright pictures on the sites and the assurances of the sellers. To get started, read the growing guidelines or consult an experienced agronomist. When choosing, pay attention to the fact how many days this variety will need to ripen.
Astrakhan, or Bykovsky (white), monastic (green with white stripes and with red or gray seeds), Kamyshinsky (of the same color), Crimson Sweet (early) and a number of others are considered the best varieties of gourds. Seeds are usually sold in packs of five for 35-45 rubles per package. At the same time, some suppliers set a minimum purchase lot - from 500-700 rubles.
Melon crops are planted only when hot weather finally sets in. As a rule, this is the middle-end of May (in southern regions) or the beginning of June. Watermelon belongs to heat-loving plants, it does not withstand frost and does not tolerate temperature drops to 5-10 ° C. For the normal development of the plant, the temperature should be from 20-25 ° C and above (optimal - 30 ° C). Great importance it also has air humidity (it should ideally be 60%) and soil. On the one hand, thanks to a powerful root system, watermelon survives even in arid regions. However, if you want to get large, juicy and tasty fruits, then you need to maintain soil moisture at a certain level.
As mentioned above, watermelon seeds remain viable for 4-5 years. At the same time, two-year-old seeds are considered the most suitable for sowing, since plants grown from fresh seeds (from the previous crop) are not particularly prolific. In extreme cases, annual seeds can also be planted, but in this case it is recommended to warm them up to 60 ° C for a couple of hours. To obtain uniform seedlings, melon seeds are pre-sprouted. To do this, they are wrapped in gauze, dipped in warm water for four hours, and then laid out on wet burlap, wrapped in cloth and kept in it for two days. After that, they can be planted in the ground.
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If you want to plant watermelons earlier than usual (in the second half of May), then you can grow them in seedlings using peat cups, as gourds do not tolerate transplanting. At early landing watermelon seeds, they must first be hardened in order to increase their resistance to cold. To do this, they are first soaked, and then hardened for 1-2 days at a temperature of 0 to 20 °C.
Watermelon prefers mechanically light or sandy soils that warm up quickly in the sun. It is best if perennial grasses, winter wheat, corn for silage, green fodder or legumes were grown on the field before melons. Experts recommend returning watermelon crops to the previous place of cultivation of the same or other crops of the pumpkin family no earlier than in 5-8 years. However, this rule is often not respected.
Experienced people advise laying watermelon seeds in the soil not vertically, but horizontally on their side. Thus, it will be easier for the leaves to break through the thick shell of the seed. In open ground, watermelons are planted in rows or nesting. Take into account the fact that one plant should have a fairly large space. This requirement is due, firstly, to the length of the lashes, and secondly, to the size of the fruits, for the ripening of which plants need a very large amount of nutrients. Watermelon seeds are sown manually in shallow holes 4-6 cm deep. 2-3 seeds are placed in one hole, then it is filled with water and covered with earth.
Shoots appear, as a rule, on the tenth - eleventh days of sowing. After another week, the first leaf blooms, and the main shoot begins to form at least two weeks later, or even later, depending on the variety. Caring for gourds is standard - weeding and loosening the soil, removing weeds and regular watering. For the whole season, you need to weed and loosen the melon at least four times, but water it - from 3-4 to 9-12 times per season, depending on the weather and the condition of the plants. When the central leaves of plants begin to wilt, this is a sure sign that they are not getting enough moisture. Watermelons need to be watered warm water(temperature from 15 ° C) to the very root. Watering should be relatively plentiful so that moisture penetrates deep into the entire arable layer. Water consumption is from 50 to 100 cubic meters per hectare. In not very dry weather, the next, more abundant watering is done after the formation of the ovary and when the fruits reach a weight of 3-5 kg. In this case, the water consumption can be 150 cubic meters per hectare. It is extremely important to develop your own schedule and watering rates, depending on the region and weather conditions, and strictly adhere to them. A lack or excess of moisture can cut the resulting yield by more than half. With excessive watering, there is a high risk of developing various fungal diseases of plants, and excess moisture during fruit ripening can adversely affect their quality: watermelons will turn out unsweetened and watery.
At the beginning of growth, melons and gourds are recommended to be fertilized with cowshed infusion (rotted manure). After harvesting, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are applied for digging melons (half the dose of phosphorus and nitrogen and half the dose of potassium). In some manuals, you can find recommendations for additional melon fertilizer in spring period nitrogen fertilizers. However, they must be used with extreme caution. Excessively high doses nitrogen fertilizers reduce the palatability of fruits, which, although they grow larger, do not have a characteristic sweet taste. Moreover, high levels of nitrates can be harmful to human health.
At proper care(with regular removal of weeds), suitable climate, favorable weather conditions, fertile soil and irrigation per hectare of sown area when grown on the ground, you can harvest 20-40 tons of crops, and when grown on film - 40-70 tons. As we mentioned above, the ripening process for early-ripening fruits takes 60-85 days, for mid-ripening and late-ripening fruits - an average of 100 days. You can determine the maturity of the fetus by its appearance- elasticity and brilliance of the bark, its color, brightness of the pattern. If you hit a ripe fruit with your palm, the sound will be deaf. When squeezing such a watermelon, a crackling of the pulp inside is heard. In cool weather, ripe watermelons can remain on melons for up to a month. However, in extreme heat, they burn out in less than a week under the scorching rays of the sun, so take care of the room for storing ripe fruits and timely harvesting in advance.
Growing watermelons in greenhouses
If you want to get an early and / or more abundant harvest, if you plan to grow watermelons in regions whose climate is not suitable for gourds, then you can not do without greenhouses. The following varieties of watermelons are suitable for greenhouse cultivation: F1 Gift to the North, Cinderella, Ultra Early, F1 Charleston near Moscow, Ogonyok, Pannonia F1, F1 Pink Champagne, Siberian, F1 Krimstar ".
Seedlings for the greenhouse are recommended to be sown in the second half of April. For forcing seedlings, a special mixture is prepared, which includes three parts of humus with one part of the earth, a tablespoon of potash and nitrogen fertilizers, three tablespoons of phosphorus fertilizer. Also, if you are not using mineral fertilizers you can add a glass wood ash and one teaspoon of potassium sulfate per bucket of soil mixture.
As with sowing seeds in open ground, when planting seedlings, they are laid to a shallow depth - up to 2-3 cm. Before germination, the soil with seeds should be kept at a temperature of 22-25 ° C. When the first shoots appear, the temperature can drop at night to a maximum of 15-17 ° C.
In general, care for watermelon seedlings is the same as for cucumber seedlings. It is necessary to provide the shoots with a long daylight hours - from 12 to 14 hours, otherwise, if there is a lack of light, they will begin to stretch too quickly, giving long but weak shoots. You can provide the necessary lighting with the help of special lamps that are used for greenhouse crops. A week after germination, it is recommended to shade the seedlings with a black film from 18 to 8 hours (from evening to morning). On the tenth day after the shoots appear, the plants are fed with mineral fertilizers (10-15 grams of potassium chloride, ammonia sulfur, 20-25 grams of superphosphate per 10 liters of water).
Do not forget to prepare the soil in the greenhouse in advance for planting seedlings. It is planted only in "warm" beds. To prepare them, a week before planting, a layer of earth 15-20 cm thick is removed from the soil. Hay with humus is laid in this trench, which is sprinkled with nitrogen fertilizers and abundantly moistened hot water, and then covered with soil and black film. After the soil warms up to at least 10-12 ° C, it will be possible to plant seedlings in it to a depth of 10 cm. - in the third decade of April - the first decade of May. When the lashes appear and as they grow, they are tied to the trellises, and the fruits themselves, due to their large weight, are recommended to be hung in nets. For the rapid growth of plants, the lashes are pinched, leaving three leaves above the fruit and removing weak shoots.
The greenhouse must be regularly ventilated, avoiding drafts. It is desirable that insects that pollinate female flowers get into the greenhouse. However, you can do it yourself. To do this, carefully monitor the appearance of male flowers, which fade very quickly. With manual pollination, they are plucked, the petals are carefully removed and the anthers are applied to the stigma of female flowers several times. Experts advise doing this in the morning at an air temperature of about 20 ° C, but only on condition that the night before this the air temperature did not drop below 12 ° C.
Do not forget to leave enough seeds after harvesting for the next crops. The watermelons that grow from these seeds are better able to resist various diseases and grow faster.
Ripe watermelons are sold to wholesale companies, private sellers, directly to end customers and through fruit and vegetable stores. With small volumes, it is most profitable to sell watermelons on your own, since wholesale prices differ from retail ones at times.
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Watermelon, melon, pumpkin - annual plants gourd families with dioecious flowers: male and female flowers are laid separately on the same plant. Female flowers are easy to distinguish - they have a visible ovary. These plants form long branched stems with tendrils. Usually such stems spread along the ground, but if there is support, they climb it, clinging with tendrils. In watermelon, melon and pumpkin, the fruits are removed in full ripeness when the seeds ripen in them.
The fruits of gourds are a valuable food and dietary product. They are eaten fresh, baked, fried, pickled, dried and dried, candied fruits, honey, mashed potatoes are prepared from them. Pumpkin and fodder watermelon are used for livestock feed both fresh and ensiled with straw, corn and other feed.
Melons are very demanding on heat. Watermelons and melons are natives of dry steppes; birthplace of watermelons - South Africa, and melons - regions of Asia Minor and Central Asia. They tolerate not only high temperatures, but also significant dry air. Under such conditions, plants produce especially sugary and aromatic fruits. Pumpkin is not as drought tolerant and less heat demanding. Her seeds begin to germinate at temperatures above 13 °. Optimum temperature for growth and development of gourds 25-30°; at temperatures below 12-15° they develop weakly, and at temperatures close to 0° they die.
We have the main areas of cultivation of melons and gourds - Volgograd, Rostov regions, Krasnodar Territory, Transcaucasia, Ukraine, Central Asian republics. In the most southern regions of our country, melons are mainly grown on melons, to the north the main areas are occupied by watermelons, and even further north - pumpkin.
Crops of gourds are placed on the fields in crop rotation, as a rule, after winter wheat, in a number of regions (Ukrainian SSR, Moldova, Central Asia) they are used in vegetable crop rotations. Soil preparation for melons and gourds consists of deep autumn plowing by 25-27 cm, early spring harrowing and one or two spring treatments. Under plowing, phosphoric and potash fertilizers, spring under cultivation-nitrogen. Phosphorus fertilizers accelerate the ripening of fruits, increase their yield and quality. A moderate amount of nitrogen fertilizer enhances plant growth. From organic fertilizers, rotted manure is applied under melon crops.
Before sowing, the seeds of gourds are warmed up, soaked and germinated in order to get earlier and more friendly shoots. Sow the seeds when the soil warms up well. Pumpkin and zucchini seeds are planted to a depth of 8-10 cm, watermelon - 6-8 cm, melon - 4-6 cm. Sowing is carried out with ordinary or square-nested seeders.
Melon plants need a large feeding area (from 1 to 8 m2) depending on the crop, variety, soil type, climatic conditions. Caring for gourds consists in thinning seedlings, loosening row spacings two or three times, removing weeds, sprinkling sections of lashes with earth, and fighting diseases and pests.
Most high yields watermelons and melons - up to 400 centners per hectare - are obtained by irrigation. During the growing season, 9-12 irrigations are carried out with an irrigation rate of 500-700 m3 of water per hectare.
It is very important to properly store the crop in autumn and winter. The optimum storage temperature for fruits of watermelons and melons is +1, +3°, pumpkin +10° at a relative humidity of 80% for watermelons and melons, and about 70% for pumpkin. Pumpkin and fodder watermelon can be stored until a new harvest. Table watermelons are stored no more than 3-4 months.
Gourds - watermelon, melon and pumpkin - are cultivated to produce juicy fruits that are distinguished by high taste. The fruits of table watermelon and melon contain 6-12% sugar, vitamins B, B 3 , C, PP, etc. There are a lot of iron salts and folic acid in watermelon. In addition to direct consumption of these fruits in the canning and confectionery industry, honey (from juice), candied fruit, jam, marshmallow and other products are prepared.
Pumpkin with yellow flesh is rich in phosphorus salts and carotene, contains a lot of phytoncides.
For livestock feed, fresh fruits of fodder varieties of pumpkin and watermelon are usually used. They are considered a valuable dairy feed. 100 kg of fodder pumpkin contains 10 fodder. units and 70 g of digestible protein; in 100 kg of fodder watermelon - 9 fodder. units and 40 g of digestible protein.
Edible oil is extracted from the seeds of gourds, especially pumpkins.
The yield of the best varieties of watermelons on non-irrigated lands is 25-30 t/ha, and on irrigated lands - 40-50 t/ha or more. The yield of melon is from 16-18 to 50 t/ha and pumpkin from 35 to 70 t/ha and more.
Gourds belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes three of the most important genera in the culture: watermelon (Citrullus), melon (Melo) and pumpkin (Cucurbita). Plants of these genera are annuals, very similar to each other in the structure of vegetative and generative organs.
Watermelon. It is represented by two species: table watermelon (Citrullus edulus Pang.) and candied fodder watermelon (Citrullus colocynthoides Pang.).
Root table watermelon rod, strongly branched, reaches a depth of 3-5 m and spreads to the sides up to 7 m. The stem is creeping, long-braided (2-5 m), with 5-10 branches, pubescent with hard hairs. The leaves are strongly dissected into pinnately incised lobes, stiffly pubescent. Flowers are quinary, yellow, dioecious; the female flowers are larger than the male flowers (Fig. 22). Cross-pollination by insects. The fruit is a multi-seeded false berry (pumpkin) on a long stem, spherical, oval or oblong, painted white-greenish or dark green, often with a marbled pattern. The bark of the fruit is leathery, fragile, with a thickness of 0.5 to 2.0 cm. The pulp is of various textures, carmine-red, pink, less often white or yellow, tastes sweet or slightly sweet. The pulp contains from 5.7 to 13% sugar. Fruit weight from 2 to 20 kg. Watermelon seeds are flat, ovoid, 0.5-2.0 cm long, with a scar along the edge and a hard peel of white, yellow, gray, red and black, often with a spotted pattern. Weight of 1000 seeds 60-150 g.
feed watermelon in its structure is somewhat different from the dining room. Its root system is more powerful. Leaves with larger shortened segments. The flowers are large, with pale yellow veins.
Rice. 22.
1 - female flower; 2 - male flower; 3 - pollen; 4 - part of the escape
chick. Male flowers are located on long pedicels, female - on short ones. Fruits of various shapes - spherical or oval-oblong, green or light green in color with dark stripes, marble pattern. The pulp of the fruit is pale green, contains 1.2-2.6% sugar. Fruit weight from 10-15 to 25-30 kg or more. Feed watermelon seeds without rib. The weight of 1000 seeds is 120-130 g and more. Table watermelon is one of the heat-loving, heat-tolerant and very drought-resistant plants. In moist soil, its seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 16-17 ° C. Shoots appear on the 8-10th day. Frosts -1 * C are fatal for them. The most favorable temperature for the growth of stems and leaves is 20-22 °C, and for the development of fruits 25-30 °C.
Table watermelon is a photophilous plant of a short day. The best soils for it are sandy and sandy loam. loamy and clay soils unsuitable, as they firmly retain moisture and do not warm up well.
Fodder watermelon, compared with table watermelon, is less demanding on growing conditions.
The following varieties of table watermelon are common: Astrakhansky, Borchansky, Zemlyanin, Lotus, Extraordinary, Spark, Rose of the South-East, Sinchevsky, Kholodok, Shironinsky.
Of the varieties of fodder watermelon, Diskhim is the most famous.
Melon. Represented by many species. We have common melons with soft pulp: handalak (Melo chandalak Pang.), adana, or Cilician (Melo adana Pang.), cassaba (Melo cassaba
Pang.), and with dense pulp: charjou (Melo zard Pang.), ameri (Melo ameri Pang.), cantaloupe (Melo cantalypa Pang.). These species are very similar.
The root system of a melon is less powerful than that of a watermelon, it consists of the main root, penetrating to a depth of 3-4 m, and superficially located numerous lateral branches. The stem is creeping, cylindrical, hollow, strongly viscous, hard-haired. Leaves are kidney-shaped or heart-shaped, on long petioles. Flowers are orange-yellow. The fruits are large, of various shapes and colors. The pulp is loose or dense, contains 12% sugar. Seeds are ovoid, flat, white-yellow, 0.5 to 1.5 cm long, contain 25-30% oil. Weight of 1000 seeds 35-50 g.
In terms of its biological characteristics, melon approaches watermelon, but is more thermophilic and less drought-resistant, it is easier to put up with loamy soils.
Varieties: Kolkhoznitsa 749/753, Kazachka 244, Koi-bash, Khandalyak Kokcha 14, Dessert 5, Ameri 696, Tavria, Golden, Livadia, Dream, Golyanka, Hoarfrost, Samara, Amber.
Pumpkin. In culture, it has three types: common table (Cucurbita rero L.), large-fruited fodder (Cucurbita maxima L.) and nutmeg (Cucurbita moschata Duch.).
The root system of all types of pumpkin is well developed. Stem common pumpkin creeping. Some of its varieties are characterized by a bush form (zucchini). The leaves are five-lobed, with coarse styloid pubescence. The male flowers are collected several times in the axils of the leaves, the female flowers are solitary, located on the side branches. The fruit is obovate, spherical or oblong, with fibrous sweet pulp containing 4-8% sugar. Seeds of medium size and small, oval, with a clear rim, white, cream or darker in color, contain 36-52% oil. Weight of 1000 seeds 200-230 g.
fodder pumpkin large-fruited has a cylindrical hollow creeping stem. The leaves are reniform, weakly emarginate, pubescent with coarse hairs. The flowers are very large, orange-yellow. The fruits are spherical, flattened or elongated, reaching 50-70 cm in diameter, of various colors. The flesh of the fruit is loose, juicy, orange, less often white, contains 4-8% sugar. Seeds are large, smooth, with an indistinct rim. Oil content in them 36-50 %. Weight of 1000 seeds 240-300 g.
Butternut squash has a creeping branched stem. Leaves are reniform, cordate-notched or lobed, pubescent with fine hairs. The flowers are green or reddish-orange. The fruit is elongated, with interception, the pulp of the fruit is dense, contains 8-11% sugar. Seeds of medium size, dirty gray, with a clear rim, contain 30-46% oil. Weight of 1000 seeds 190-220 g.
Pumpkin is less thermophilic and drought-resistant than watermelon and melon. Its seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 12-13 °C. Seedlings are less affected by frost. Pumpkin works best on loamy soils.
Varieties: Bashkirskaya 245, Biryuchekutskaya 27, Hybrid 72, Gribovskaya winter, Donskaya sweet, Zorka, Almond 35, Prikornevaya, Troyanda, Khersonskaya, Khutoryanka.
Cultivation practices. Gourds are demanding on soil fertility and cleanliness of fields from weeds. They work well on virgin and fallow lands, by layer perennial herbs and on the floodplains. In field crop rotations, winter cereals, corn, and annual grasses are good predecessors of melons. For specialized melon-growing farms, crop rotations are recommended with the following alternation of crops: 1 - winter rye + grasses; 2 - herbs of the 1st year; 3 - herbs
2nd year; 4 - herbs of the 3rd year; 5 - gourds; 6 - melons; 7 - spring wheat; 8 - corn for silage. In such a crop rotation specific gravity gourds is 25%.
It must be remembered that the fields on which herbicides were used in the crops of previous crop rotations are unsuitable for the placement of gourds.
The correct use of mineral and organic fertilizers increases productivity, accelerates ripening and improves the quality of gourds. As an organic fertilizer for watermelon and melon, manure is applied (with deep autumn tillage) in the amount of 15-20 t/ha and for pumpkin - 30-40 t/ha. Higher doses of manure for these crops can cause a delay in fruit ripening and deterioration in their quality.
At the same time with organic fertilizers contribute minerals. It is recommended to apply per 1 hectare n^PcLo or N 60 P 45 K 50 for autumn tillage and N IO P 15 K, 0 in rows when sowing. Mineral fertilizers increase the yield of watermelons by 25-30%, and the sugar content by 2-3%.
In addition to the main and sowing fertilizer, it is also desirable to feed plants before flowering - N ^ R ^ K ^.
Soil cultivation for gourds and gourds includes autumn (peeling by 8-10 cm and plowing with plows with skimmers to a depth of 25-30 cm) and spring processing soils consisting of harrowing and cultivation (at least two) followed by harrowing. V northern regions melon growing on highly compacted soils, the first spring cultivation is often replaced by plowing. When the topsoil dries out, rolling is applied.
For sowing, seeds are taken from fully ripened healthy fruits. Seed germination should be at least 90%. Before sowing, the seeds are subjected to air-thermal heating in the sun for
3-5 days or heated for 4 hours at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, soaked in water at room temperature for 24 hours 1-2 days before sowing. Warming up the seeds increases the yield of watermelons by 11-20%.
Seeds of gourds are treated in advance against diseases with 80% sp. TMTD (4-5 g per I kgeemyan). The seeds are treated with a suspension of the drug - 5-10 liters of water per 1 ton of seeds.
The optimal sowing time is the establishment of soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm for watermelon and melon 12-14 ° C, for pumpkin
9-10 °С. Watermelon seeds sown under these conditions sprout after 9-10 days, melons - after 8-9, pumpkins - after 6-7 days.
When sown in insufficiently warmed soil, the seeds of melons and gourds can rot and give sparse shoots. Late sowing also greatly reduces their yield.
Sowing of gourds is carried out with gourds seeders. For sowing, corn and cotton seeders are sometimes also used on farms.
The feeding area depends on the variety, climatic conditions, soil fertility. The following sowing schemes are recommended, m: watermelon -
2.5 x (1.5 ... 1.7); 2.1 x (2.1 ... 1.4); 1.8x1.8; melon - 2.5 x (0.8 ... 1.0); 2.1 x(0.8...1.2); pumpkin - 2.5x (1.8 ... 2.0); 2.8x (1.5 ... 1.8).
The seeding rate for watermelon seeds is 1.5-3.0 kg/ha, pumpkins 3-5, melons 2-4 kg/ha. The sowing depth of watermelon and pumpkin seeds is 6-8 cm, melon 4-6 cm.
Care of crops of gourds and melons includes harrowing and loosening with rotary hoes until shoots appear to break the crust and destroy weed seedlings, as well as inter-row tillage to a depth of 12-15 cm during the first and 8-10 cm during subsequent loosening. When processing row spacings, overgrown lashes of plants must be removed to the side so that they are not damaged by tractor wheels and tillage implements.
To do this, in the same unit with the cultivator, a lash layer is installed, which pushes the lashes from the middle of the aisle to a width of 50-60 cm, sufficient for the passage of the wheels of the tractor and the cultivator.
For inter-row tillage, cultivators KRN-4.2, KRN-5.6 and melon cultivator KNB-5.4 are used, for weeding in rows - weeding unit PAU-4.
To prevent tangling of the lashes by the wind, they are sprinkled with damp soil. This causes the formation of additional roots, which improves plant nutrition. Good results are obtained by pinching (chasing) the ends of the lashes during the flowering of male flowers.
In the fight against peronosporosis, crops are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, a 1% solution, according to blue vitriol(600 l/ha), against powdery mildew dusted with ground sulfur powder (15-30 kg/ha). The processing of melons is stopped 15 days before the start of the harvest.
Irrigation is of great importance in the cultivation of gourds in Russia. Under melon crops, 3-5 vegetation irrigations are given with an interval of 10-15 days. They begin long before flowering, then temporarily stop and resume when fruit is set. Irrigation rate is 600-800 m 3 /ha.
Cleaning. Gourds do not ripen at the same time. Therefore, table watermelon, melon and zucchini are harvested in 2-3 doses (as they mature), and pumpkin and fodder watermelon - in one go, before the onset of frost. Signs of ripening watermelon fruits are drying of the stem, coarsening of the bark and the appearance of a clear pattern on it. Ripe melons acquire the color and pattern characteristic of the variety. The ripeness of a pumpkin can also be determined by the color and density of the peel.
For selective harvesting of gourds, a wide-cut conveyor TSHP-25 is used. Ripe fruits are plucked and placed in the meshes of a conveyor belt, which guides and stacks them directly into the body of a nearby vehicle. During the last continuous collection of watermelons, one-time harvesting for seeds and when harvesting pumpkins, a mechanized collection of fruits into windrows with a UPV-8 windrower, selection of windrows with a PBV-1 pick-up and soft styling them into vehicles.
The described harvesting technology reduces labor costs by 5-6 times compared to the technology of harvesting with the removal of fruits to the side of the field.
When transporting melons and gourds, the container method of transportation should be more widely used, which reduces manual labor in loading and unloading operations, improves product quality and reduces transport downtime.
For storage, fruits are selected without damage. Watermelons are stored at a temperature of 2-3 °C, melons - at 0-2 °C and an optimum air humidity of 75-85%, pumpkin - at 10 °C and a relative humidity of 70-75%.
Gourd cultures.
These include watermelon, melon, pumpkin. The fruits of these plants are very rich in sugar, vitamins, organic acids, salts of potassium, iron, phosphorus, and in terms of the content of provitamin A, it surpasses carrots.
Melons are light-loving and heat-loving plants, they develop normally only when high temperature air and soil.
Seedlings, after sowing seeds, appear on the fifth, sixth day. The formation of the first true leaf begins after three to five days; the second true leaf again in three, five days, and so on. The plant branches in five or six days, then the first flower appears in the same way in five or six days.
Watermelon more heat-loving than melon and pumpkin, but melon is more drought-resistant. Pumpkin is more cold-resistant than watermelon and melon.
The optimum temperature for flowering and fertilization of gourds is at least 20 degrees at night and 20 to 25 degrees during the day. Frosts are detrimental to melons and gourds.
These crops are considered drought tolerant as the plants have strong root systems, dissected leaves covered with hairs, but these crops, especially pumpkin, require a lot of soil moisture.
Good predecessors for gourds are all vegetable crops and corn.
In the fall, deep plowing (digging) of the area for melons is necessary; weeding and loosening the soil are carried out before sowing.
To obtain friendly shoots, the seeds are soaked, germinated, treated with various preparations. The bent seeds are planted in warm and necessarily moist soil.
Since the pumpkin is a more cold-resistant plant, it is sown first, then melon and watermelon. Seeding depth from three to seven centimeters. The depth of embedding depends on weather conditions, soil type, how dry the topsoil is. When sowing in holes, it is better to place the seeds at different depths. If the top layer of soil is dry, it must be removed to a wet layer, the seeds should be planted in moist soil, and sprinkled on top. thin layer dry soil so that a crust does not form on moist soil.
To create favorable conditions for the growth and development of melons, weeds must be destroyed; carry out thinning of plants in the holes; loosening the soil; powdering and pinching lashes; pest and disease control; watering; top dressing.
When weeding and loosening in rows, the soil is poured under the cotyledon leaves, while creating a favorable air mode soil, plants form additional roots.
Very useful powder lash melons. So that the wind does not turn over and twist the whips, a knot is sprinkled, located from the base of the whip for three-fourths of the length. If the pinching of the branches is done, this increases the yield, and also increases the size of the fruit.
In order for the plant to form additional roots at the beginning of growth and development, during weeding and loosening, the plants are spudded, adding soil under the cotyledon leaves.
Gourds, and watermelon and melon especially, need watering during the period of flowering and fruit formation.
To obtain early production of melons, use a protected ground; early-ripening varieties are sown; cultivation through seedlings, it is obtained in greenhouses and greenhouses or film shelters are used.
As they mature, gourds are harvested. A watermelon is considered ripe if the tendril dries out in the axil of the leaf, near the stalk. On the surface of the fetus, a shine and a clearer pattern are acquired, and when hit with a click, a dull sound appears.
A melon is considered ripe by the change in color of the bark from green to yellow; a fragrant smell is acquired; the fruit is easily separated from the stem.
The ripeness of the pumpkin is determined by the dried, corked stalk, it is harvested before frost.
Zucchini, squash, zucchini, belong to the gourd family and are early maturing crops. The fruits are harvested already 1.5-2 months after sowing and harvesting is completed before the appearance of frost.
For food, zucchini and squash use 6-8-day fruits, they are harvested after 2-3 days.
These plants are bushy, the internodes are short, there are almost no lateral shoots. The leaves are large, green, the root is highly branched, goes deep into the soil. The flowers are unisexual, pollinated by insects.
In zucchini and zucchini, the fruits are elongated, the color of the fruits is from pale green to dark green with a pattern. In zucchini, the fruit pulp is very tender, juicy.
The fruits of squash are dish-bell-shaped, the pulp is denser than that of zucchini.
Grow zucchini and squash by sowing in the ground or seedlings when the threat of spring frost has passed.
The best predecessors for zucchini and squash are early vegetables, onions, root crops, tomatoes, legumes, potatoes.
Before sowing or planting seedlings in open ground, the site is dug up and organic and mineral fertilizers are applied, as well as fertilized with ash.
Seeds are sown in holes in three pieces, the distance between the holes is 60-70 cm.
Seeds can be soaked before sowing, for faster germination, but a prerequisite for sowing, only in moist soil.
During the period of seedling development, they need watering, in the future, watering may be less frequent, but plentiful. After germination, weak plants are removed, leaving one plant per hole.
Further care for zucchini, zucchini, squash plants consists in regular watering; loosening the soil; hilling and fertilizing plants.
These fruits have good keeping quality and transportability.