When growing in a greenhouse and in the open field of the middle lane, you need to know how to pinch a melon and when. Obtaining sweet and juicy fruits depends not only on the fertility of the soil, strong seedlings and the necessary top dressing, but also on the knowledge of agricultural technology for the formation of a climbing plant.
Principles of pinching: why you need it
In conditions of a rather cold (by the standards of a melon - a heat-loving Asian plant) summer, when cold nights begin in August, the plants should not only form fruits, but also have time to ripen.
Primary pinching the plant in the right place allows the plant to focus on the main thing - to form fruits, secondary pinching does not allow the melon to waste its strength on excessive fruiting.
How to pinch a melon in a greenhouse
After the melon seedlings have taken root, new leaves begin to grow, you need to monitor when the main stem appears. With good lighting, warm nighttime temperatures and fertile land, this should happen in mid-June.
A thick stem with dense leaves should preferably be immediately tied to a trellis (or to a rope support). Until it has four-five leaves, do not pinch it.
As soon as the fifth or sixth sheet appears, you need to arm yourself with a tool. Garden shears (clean), secateurs are suitable, in extreme cases, you can simply pinch the plant. Since it is necessary to pinch the melon, it is impossible to do without this process.
The very top of the stem must be cut off (pinched), thereby stopping the growth of the main shoot. If more leaves have grown, you need to count five or six from the bottom and cut off the top part without regret.
Over the next week, the plant will release shoots (you can call stepchildren) of the first order from the lateral sinuses of the remaining five leaves. Usually these are two on one side and two or three on the other.
Side shoots need to be tied up to encourage them to grow upwards. They will bloom mainly female flowers, from which the fruits will develop.
Until mid-July, work with melons will consist of fertilizing and watering, and measures can be taken to prevent diseases.
Pinching side shoots
In mid-July (if the summer is hot, then in early July) you need to check the presence and quality of the ovaries on the melon. Since pinching a melon during this period is much more difficult (it has already grown), you need to stock up on tools (scissors or pruners) and patience.
By this moment, the melon had shoots not only of the first, but also of the second order. They all crawl up, many ovaries have already formed on them. Under the conditions of the middle lane, the melon will be able to "feed" only fivesix fruits, unfortunately.
We need to find out on which lashes the biggest melons are poured. With them, the plant should remain until the end of the growing period.
Usually, the fruits on the shoots of the first order begin to pour (become larger) first, although there are exceptions. It is necessary to count five or six leaves above the ovary, cut off the rest of the shoot (it is already quite dense, it is difficult to pinch it with your fingers). There is no need to regret, if you leave the extra parts, the melons simply will not ripen. You need to check all the whips, leaving six with fruits.
If there are no six good ovaries on the melon (only three or four), then you need to cut those on which they are, check the rest for the presence of female flowers. Leave these lashes uncut and return to them in a week. If the fruits (at least two more) are tied, you need to cut off these shoots, leaving five or six leaves above the ovaries.
While pinching side shoots, you need to see how the fruits develop. If they lie on the ground, they urgently need to put pieces of linoleum or tiles under them. This is necessary so that the fruit does not lie on damp ground, as it can rot. Fruits that have formed high on the shoot must be put in a net, tied up.
How to pinch melons in the open field
In the conditions of the middle strip under open ground for melons, it should be understood that the plants are under film shelters. The cold nights of the end of May and the beginning of June, and most importantly, the lowering of temperatures at night in August to 7-8 degreeslet the melon grow strong without disease.
In these conditions, the plants just lie on the ground, so it is important to know when and how to pinch melons under film covers.
If the shelter is well organized, melons feel very comfortable there (provided the soil is fertile). During the day, the shelter removed provides an excellent opportunity for pollination by bees and bumblebees, which is sometimes not enough in greenhouse conditions.
Mid-end of June (depending on weather conditions) - the time of the first pinching. It is performed in the same way as for greenhouses: the main shoot is shortened to five or six leaves.
A week or two after the flowering of the side shoots, you need to monitor the formation of ovaries. You need to choose five or six of the largest fruits, cutting the lashes through five or six sheets above them. Under the melons, be sure to put pieces of plastic or tiles.
