Technique that enhances growth in cucurbitaceous like melon seeds.
The quality of the melon seeds, as in any other fruit, is the basis for good crop growth. Melon seeds represent the fertilized egg that, under favorable conditions will enhance growth in the new plant. But in order to obtain a viable plant, melon seeds need to be in good condition, free of pathogens and with a genetic pool that fulfills, almost entirely, characteristics such as size, color and desired forms. Good seed quality gives us benefits regarding the aspect of the plant and the fruit, if given the proper care during its growth.
Melon is a cucurbitaceous of great importance in the global market, its origins come from Africa, but today it´s distributed worldwide. According to CONABIO one single fruit has approximately 400 seeds with an oval shape and a size that varies from 0.7 to 1.2 centimeters long; these can be yellow, white and light brown.
The type of growth that this plant presents, being a cucurbitaceous is of the creeping kind and requires special care from the farmer, because its stems tend to tangle or climb up wherever possible to fulfil its growth. Species of the creeping kind are recommended to be cultivated along with a trellis net, with the purpose of enhancing production and the quality of crops.
In the Cucumis melo crops, the staking processes used are the same for most of the cucurbitaceous and other crops such as tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, and others, where tutoring screen is used in the form of a web made of propylene, which serves as support for plant growth and also to enhance fruit quality.
According to studies found on the web, the multiple benefits of using trellis netting is that light, heat and ventilation capturing is best taken advantage of by the crop, resulting in rapid flowering and increased fruit quantity. Also, flowering means the attraction of many beneficial insects who will be in charge of pollination and predation of plagues present in our crops. Also, when trellis netting is used in a vertical way we prevent the fruit from falling to the ground and contaminating itself with the fungus present in humid soil that develop through the continuous irrigation to our crops. It´s also important to keep in mind that these phytopathogens such as fungus, viruses and bacteria can become a devastating plague problem, affecting neighboring crops and making our production useless.
The HORTOMALLAS propylene tutoring screen as a staking technique has become a key tool for open-field and greenhouse producers, because of its effectiveness in crop tutoring and flower growing.