Some farmers, especially at the end of winter, use seedlings for their cucurbit crops in an attempt to get an early-growth advantage and better prices.
In the case of pumpkins and squashes, however, this strategy doesn’t always work as these types struggle after transplanting.
I use transplants for convenience in my breeding programme, but find that volunteer plants from seed from the previous season’s unharvested fruit often overtake the transplanted seedlings.
The problem is that root ‘pruning’ in the seedling plugs sets the plant back. If there is too much leaf growth, the leaves rapidly extract moisture from the plug medium.
Due to the different composition of the medium and the soil, moisture does not move readily from the soil into the plug by capillary action. The young plants therefore need frequent light irrigation to keep them alive until enough roots enter the soil. This takes longer with pumpkins and squashes than a crop such as cabbage.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 30, 2018 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 30, 2018 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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