Watermelon Ogonyok: characteristics of the variety and agricultural technology
Watermelon is a big tasty berry. In the XIII-XIV centuries, he came to us from southern Africa and since then has enjoyed well-deserved popularity. This is an annual of the Pumpkin family. The history of its distribution by the world is interesting and fascinating, but it is appreciated for its taste and the benefits that it brings to the body.
Content:
- Watermelon Ogonyok: variety description
- Growing watermelon Spark
- Tips for care in an open ugrunt
- Greenhouse watermelon care
- Pests and diseases
Watermelon Ogonyok: variety description
The Ogonyok watermelon variety was created by Russian breeders. It is distinguished by fruits with a thin skin, the weight of which reaches 2.5 kg. Watermelons of this variety are prized for the sweet and aromatic taste of the pulp. No wonder it is called sugar. The plant has thin stems with a lot of branching. The stem is pubescent, especially in young plants. The leaves are triangular-ovate, rigid, pubescent, with long petioles. They are arranged alternately on the stem. The flowers are yellow, male and female, have a boat-shaped bract. The root penetrates into the ground to a depth of about 1 m.
The fruit is a multi-seeded berry. Its surface is smooth, spherical, painted green with black stripes. The pulp is red. The seeds are small. This is an early variety. Watermelon Ripens in 71-87 days after germination.
Watermelon Spark contains vitamins A, B, C, a lot of fiber.
It enhances intelligence, improves vision, reduces muscle pain. Lycopene, which is 40% more than in tomatoes, improves immunity, reduces the risk of cancer, protecting from ultraviolet radiation. Eating watermelon, a person cleanses the body of toxins, loses excess weight.
For cultivation, plots are used where pumpkin crops have not grown for at least 6 years. Do not place watermelons after nightshades. The best predecessors for Ogonyok watermelon will be legumes, perennial grasses, and wheat. Watermelon Ogonyok loves sandy and sandy loam soils with an acidity index of up to 7 pH. Since autumn, fertilizers are applied to the site at the rate of 5 kg of humus and 70 g of complex mineral fertilizers per square meter. If the soil is heavy clay, add a bucket of sand. Fresh manure is not used.
Growing watermelon Spark
Grow watermelon Spark from seeds. Use a seedling method or sow seeds directly into the soil. This largely depends on the climatic conditions of growing. In southern latitudes, seeds can be sown in open ground. They are afraid of low temperatures, so this should not be done at soil temperatures up to 12 degrees.
To get the harvest early germinate seedsby placing them in any dish and moistening. You can fill it with warm water for several hours, drain and cover with a cotton cloth. Air easily passes through it, entering the seeds, and moisture will not evaporate. The seeds will hatch for several (2-3) days. The area for growing watermelons should be well warmed up and illuminated by the sun and be protected from the cold wind.
Landing in open ground:
- The seeds are immersed in small holes to a depth of 7-8 cm. But first, the soil is prepared. In places where sprouted seeds will be sown, add a kilogram of humus, spoon by spoon ash and ammophoska.Mix with soil, dig a hole.
- Pour about 2 liters of water and wait until it is absorbed.
- The soil is loosened so that there is no dirt, a couple of seeds are laid. They need to be located at some distance from each other. Sprinkle with earth, compact.
- There is no need to water from above, because a dense crust forms over the seeds, which the sprout cannot break through. The water poured during planting is enough for the plant to hatch out.
Grow watermelon seedlings where warm days come too late, or when an earlier harvest is desired. Place the germinated seeds in paper cups or peat tablets... After the plants appear above the soil surface, water regularly. Illuminated, bringing daylight hours to 12 hours. The seedlings are fed after the third pair of true leaves is formed. Use a complex fertilizer or liquid solution mullein.
10 days before planting, they begin to harden the seedlings. To do this, it is taken out into the fresh air, first for several hours, then the time of air procedures is increased. Before planting, the plant must be able to withstand outdoor exposure around the clock.
Seedlings of watermelon Ogonyok are planted at a distance of up to 60 cm in rows, the distance between rows is 1 m.
Dig holes, pour them with warm water (up to 2 liters). The plant is planted so that the cotyledon leaves are at the soil level. It is useful to sprinkle the soil around the plant with sand at a distance of up to 10 cm. This will protect the plant from being damaged by rot. No matter how carefully the work on planting seedlings is carried out, immediately after transplanting, the leaves of the watermelon wither. Therefore, plants are watered and protected from direct sunlight. They remove the protection only after the leaves become elastic.
In the northern regions, watermelons are grown in a double-skinned greenhouse. Seeds are sown in the 3rd decade of April. While they are growing up, they prepare the soil in the greenhouse. They remove the earth on a bayonet, lay hay mixed with humus. Then nitrogen fertilizers are sown, and all this is poured over with hot water. The removed layer of earth is returned to its place, covered with a black film. Remove it immediately before planting seedlings. They are planted in a greenhouse at a distance of 70 cm. Subsequently, the lashes will need to be tied to trellises.
Tips for care in an open ugrunt
Taking care of the watermelon in the open field is easy. No more than 2 plants are left in the hole. The rest are cut or transplanted... They take root badly, so they need to be watered and shaded from the sun in the same way as seedlings planted from cups. They will lag behind the main array for a long time, so it is worth replanting them only in exceptional cases. Remove weeds, loosen the soil near the bushes until the lashes of the neighboring bushes close. Some gardeners reasonably believe that the neighborhood with a tall single weed can be useful for a watermelon. He will cover the plant from the scorching sun rays. Leave no more than 6 fruits on each bush. So that they do not rot, they put plastic or roofing material on the floor.
Watermelon root can absorb moisture from the soil at great depths.
But before they reach a sufficient length, it needs additional moisture. Water if necessary once a week, making 3 buckets per square meter of area. During flowering, the number of waterings is increased to two, adding water throughout the site. Watering is stopped 2 weeks before harvesting. In total, watermelons need to be watered 3-4 times per season.
You need to feed watermelons in the open field several times. First, dissolve 20 g of ammonium nitrate in a bucket of water and add 2 liters under the bush. Solution can be used mulleinby adding superphosphate to it (30 g per bucket). Before flowering, add 4 g of ammonium nitrate and calcium chloride and 6 g of superphosphate per bush.
Greenhouse watermelon care
Caring for watermelons in a greenhouse is more difficult than caring for plants outdoors.It's good if bees fly into the greenhouse. They will be able to pollinate female flowers. But men do not live long, only a few hours. Therefore, it is safer to pollinate "manually". To do this, petals are removed from male flowers, stamens are drawn along the pistils of female flowers. To guarantee, you need to use several male flowers, pollinating the same female flowers. Pollination is carried out in the morning, until the temperature in the greenhouse reaches 20 degrees. But at the same time, the night should not fall below 12 degrees.
A large number of shoots are formed in a watermelon - the weak ones are removed, the rest are pinched so that 5 leaves remain above the ovary.
No more than 5 fruits are left on each bush. The rest must be removed, because they will not have time to mature, and the strength of the "elders" will be taken away. Watermelons in the greenhouse need to be fertilized. They dig grooves, add mullein solution or chicken droppings... To do this, manure is diluted with water, kept warm for 10 days. The resulting slurry is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10.
The first time they feed when the lashes reach 50 cm, the second - before the formation of buds, the third - after the fruits are formed. The first feeding is applied at a distance of 20 cm from the roots, the subsequent ones - 40 cm.
Pests and diseases
The main diseases of watermelon of fungal origin:
- Powdery mildew manifests itself as a white bloom on the leaves. The fruits become tasteless and rot.
- When affected by peronosporosis (downy mildew), yellow spots appear on old leaves, and a gray-purple bloom appears below. The fruits change shape and do not grow.
- Bacteirosis (angular spotting) appears as white oily spots. Holes form on the leaves, they fall off. The fruits become transparent and disappear.
- Olive spotting causes the fruit to dry out. It is manifested by the formation of spots of irregular shape on all parts of the plant. The leaves become corrugated, ulcers form on the petioles. Anthracnose - the appearance of brown spots with pink formations.
- Watermelon is affected by root rot, white, black and gray. They lead to damage to the roots, the plant disappears.
Fight fungal diseases by treating plants fungicides... These include Bordeaux liquid, Fundazol, Skor. It is worse if the watermelon plantation is damaged by the viral disease of the cucumber mosaic. The leaves are covered with a mosaic pattern, bumps and swellings appear on the watermelons.
The most dangerous pests of watermelon:
Wireworms and aphids gnaw at the roots of plants, and aphids drink juices from its ground parts. It especially affects young leaves. The plant becomes covered with aphids at the ends of the lashes or completely, stops growing and dies. You can fight pests with insecticides (Decis). In addition to chemical control methods, crop rotation must be observed, weeds control. The number of moth larvae decreases significantly during loosening of the soil. Larvae can be lured out of the ground by digging in traps - pieces of roots carrots, sweet beets. Cover them with boards, roofing felt or other improvised means. After a couple of days, the larvae that have accumulated on the roots are collected.
More information can be found in the video: