How to Grow Melons - This time the admin will share tips on how to grow melons. Melon or Cucumis melo is a cucumber tribe and is still a relative of cucumber suri, cantaloupe and watermelon, you can learn how to plant and cultivate watermelon for abundant yields.
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As is well known that melon is a type of plant that grows by vines. Therefore it is necessary to make a support, so that the plants do not spread over the ground. The sweet and refreshing taste of the fruit makes melons favored by many people.
Currently, many farmers cultivate various types of melons, the most widely grown in Indonesia are 3 types, namely the type of sky rocket, golden melon, and rock melon. The three types of melon have their respective advantages in terms of taste, shape, fruit and fruit color.
Cultivation and How to Grow Melons
The ideal location for melon cultivation is in an area that has an altitude of 250-700 meters above sea level. When planted in an area less than 250 meters, the resulting fruit tends to be smaller. Sedengkan bial planted on high ground, this plant is difficult to develop.
Cultivation of melons should be done in areas that have air humidity of 50-80%. While the ideal temperature for planting this plant is around 25-30 degrees Celsius, with rainfall of 1500-2500 mm / year. The quality of the melons will increase if there is a very significant temperature difference between day and night. For more details about melon cultivation, please refer to the reviews below.
Types of Melons
Before discussing melon cultivation, you must first know the various types of melons. Having knowledge about the types of melons will make it easier for you to cultivate this plant. As mentioned earlier, in Indonesia there are several types of melons that are often cultivated.
Reticulatus. This type of melon is a very popular cultivar. Round shape with green fruit skin and texture like having a net. The pulp has a green orange leaf color with a sweet and refreshing taste.
Inodorus. This melon has the characteristics of a smooth fruit skin. The shape is round, some are oval. The color of the fruit skin is yellow to pale greenish yellow. This type of melon meat has no aroma and is green, orange to white.
Cantalupensis. This last type of melon has a pumpkin-like rind. The pulp has an orange or yellow color. The aroma of the fruit is very strong. An example of this type of melon is a cantaloupe.
Melon Plant Breeding Process
How to cultivate melons can be done by using seeds from generative propagation of seeds. To cultivate melon plants in one hectare of land, about 500-700 grams of melon seeds or 16,000-20,000 trees are needed.
Before planting in the soil, the seeds should be sown first. The trick is to first soak the seeds in warm water for 6-8 hours. You can add a fungicide to the water soaked the seeds. Its function is to keep the seeds from being exposed to disruptive diseases or pests.
After the melon seeds are soaked, drain and spread on a damp cloth. Leave it for 1-2 days until the seeds sprout. Do not dampen the cloth by splashing water if the cloth seems to be drying out.
After the seeds have started to sprout, the next step is to prepare polybags or trays for the nursery. Fill the container with a planting medium consisting of compost or manure, and soil with a ratio of 1: 2. Immerse the seeds that have sprouted into the seedling medium.
Place for planting melon seedlings should be placed in a place that is protected from direct sunlight and rainwater. This emai media must always be controlled for humidity, if the media looks dry, immediately flush it with water, don't get too wet because it will cause rot.
The seeding process usually lasts 10-14 days. Or it can also be seen from the growth of leaves that have reached 3-4 leaves. At this time, the seeds are ready to be transferred to the planting medium.
Making land and planting melons
Before planting melons, the land should first be made loose by plowing and smoothing chunks of soil. After that, make a bed with a height of 30-50. 100-200 cm wide, and 10-15 meters long. Make the distance between the beds about 50-60 cm.
After the beds are finished, provide a basic fertilizer in the form of manure or compost of 15-20 tons / hectare. Use manure or compost that is ripe. You can also add artificial fertilizers such as ZA, KCI and SP-36 fertilizer of 375 kg, 375 kg and 250 kg respectively for one hectare of land. Mix all the fertilizer, then stir until evenly distributed with the soil in the bed. Leave the bed for 2-4 days.
If the soil pH is less than 5, give 2 tonnes of lime or agricultural dolomite for one hectare of land. Mix it with the soil at least 2-3 days before applying basic fertilization. Next, cover the bed with black plastic with the dark side facing the ground and the silver side facing out. Make a planting hole on top of the mulch.
In one bed only 2 rows of planting holes are filled. The distance between rows is about 60 cm while the distance between holes in one row is about 50-60 cm. Mulch closure is carried out at least 2 days before planting the seeds. The next step is to insert the seeds into the planting hole. Each planting hole is filled with one seed. So that the plants do not wither quickly, planting should be done in the afternoon, after planting, flush with water to moisten the planting area.
Melon Cultivation Care
1. Ajir Installation
Melon is a plant that grows by vines. Therefore it is necessary to install a stake to support the plant so that it does not stretch on the ground so that the resulting fruit will be maximized. With the vines to the stakes, the plants will get sunlight to all parts of the plant.
Installation of stakes is done before the plants grow big. Usually the stake is done 3 days after planting. The goal is that the stakes that are planted do not injure the plant roots. The stake used can be made of bamboo or wood, for a stake with a length of about 1.5 meters.
Plug the stake next to the planting hole at an incline, the tip of the stake inclined toward the inside of the bed. In one bed there are two rows of stakes that cross each other to form the letter X. Then prepare a long piece of bamboo and place it on top of the cross. Tie the cross between the stakes using raffia.
2. Watering Melon Plants
In order to produce quality plants, it is necessary to water regularly. Watering is done every morning and evening until the melons are one week old. Furthermore, it is enough to water it once every two days. When the rainy season arrives, make sure the drainage can function properly. Do not let any water stagnate the land, because this plant will not grow well in wetlands.
3. Provision of supplementary fertilizers
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The next process of planting melons is supplementary fertilizer. This activity is carried out when the plants are one week old. The fertilizer given is preferably in the form of a liquid, you can use organic liquid fertilizers or artificial chemical fertilizers diluted with water.
Follow-up fertilization with artificial fertilizers is given 6 times during the planting period. The artificial chemical fertilizers are dissolved in the water and then splashed on the melon plants. The recommended fertilizer dosage is 200-250 ml / plant (see picture above).
4. Melon Plant Pollination
During the dry season, pollination of melon plants is carried out by insect pollinators, but during the rainy season the intensity of pollinating insects decreases. Therefore it is necessary to do artificial pollination. This artificial pollination process is carried out at 10 am.
Perform artificial pollination on female flowers, especially those on the 9th to 13th branches. In one tree trunk 3-4 fruit can be grown. Then it is re-selected so that only 1-2 pieces of the best quality are left.
Melon Harvest
Cultivation of melons can be harvested when they are 3 months after the seeds are planted. The characteristic of a melon that is ready to be harvested is that the skin surface looks rough and there are cracks. The skin color is yellowish green and gives off a strong aroma.
To pick melons, you should wait until the ripeness level reaches 90% or about 3-7 days before the melons are fully ripe. This is useful to give the melons less time to ripen during the distribution process.
Melon picking is done by cutting the fruit stalks using scissors or a knife. The stalk is cut like the letter T, so cut the stalk that leads to the fruit. Choose melons that are really ready to be harvested.
Melon Plant Pests and Diseases
Growing melons in tropical areas such as Indonesia is quite vulnerable to pests and diseases. Pests that usually attack melon cultivation include fruit flies, aphids, leafworms, and mites. While the types of diseases that attack such as anthracnose, fruit rot and stem rot.
To prevent plants from developing disease, fertilize them regularly and maintain sanitation of the planting area. When pests and diseases start to attack, they can be overcome by spraying organic pesticides.