A method for planting pumpkin festival base synergisticly

Abstract

The application relates to the field of crop planting technology, and particularly discloses a pumpkin yield-reducing and efficiency-increasing planting method, which adopts an interval planting mode of two-ridge seedling planting and two-ridge vacancy, the planting ridge is covered with a mulching film and a drip irrigation belt is laid, and the vacancy ridge is not covered with a film and is not applied with base fertilizer. The method can save 50% of the mulching film and 75% of the drip irrigation belt, and can concentrate the fertilizer on the planting ridge to improve the fertilizer efficiency; the ventilation channel formed by the vacancy ridge can significantly reduce the disease incidence; meanwhile, the method is convenient for mechanized operation and manual management. The application can also plant corn on the vacancy ridge to shade the pumpkin to prevent the pumpkin from suffering from sunscald, and combines the natural pollination technology of bees. The application has the beneficial effects that under the premise of not changing the number of seedling plants per mu, the application realizes the significant yield-reducing, yield-increasing and quality-improving of the pumpkin planting by optimizing the field structure, and has high popularization value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of crop cultivation technology, specifically to a cost-effective and efficient pumpkin cultivation method. Background Technology

[0002] Pumpkin is an important economic crop in my country, with a wide planting area. Traditional pumpkin planting methods often employ equal or double-row spacing, with all ridges covered with mulch to retain water and warmth and suppress weeds, and drip irrigation systems used for irrigation. A large amount of base fertilizer is also applied per acre. This method has the following drawbacks: First, the cost of agricultural inputs such as mulch, fertilizer, and drip irrigation systems is high; second, field management is inconvenient, as vehicles and agricultural machinery cannot easily enter between rows for fertilization, pesticide application, and weeding, resulting in high labor costs; third, pumpkin vines grow vigorously and are prone to excessive vegetative growth, leading to an imbalance between vegetative and reproductive growth, resulting in low fruit set and small fruit size; fourth, in the high temperatures and strong sunlight of summer, pumpkin fruits are susceptible to sunscald (sunburn), severely affecting fruit appearance and marketability. Furthermore, while existing technologies include spraying plant growth regulators (such as fruit-setting agents and fruit-increasing agents) to promote fruit setting, these agents are only supplementary measures and increase pesticide input and operational procedures. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a new pumpkin cultivation technology that can reduce production costs, facilitate field management, and effectively regulate growth and prevent diseases. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To effectively solve the problems in the background art and overcome the technical defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a method for planting pumpkins, the specific technical solution of which is as follows: A cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing pumpkin planting method includes a field planting pattern in which seedlings are planted on two rows and two rows are left empty. The two rows with seedlings are covered with mulch and drip irrigation tape is laid on them, while the two empty rows are not covered with mulch and no base fertilizer is applied.

[0004] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, corn or soybeans are intercropped on the two vacant rows. The intercropped corn plants can provide shade for the pumpkins during their later growth stages, effectively preventing sunscald.

[0005] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the drip irrigation tape is laid between the two rows of seedlings, and the amount of drip irrigation tape used per mu is one-quarter of that in the traditional planting mode; and the number of seedlings per mu remains unchanged, maintaining 10,000 seedlings per hectare to ensure that the basic number of seedlings remains unchanged.

[0006] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, it also includes placing beehives in the field to utilize bees for natural pollination, thereby further improving the fruit setting rate and fruit uniformity.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, base fertilizer is applied to the two rows of seedlings planted, while no base fertilizer is applied to the two empty rows, so that the fertilizer is concentrated on the pumpkin plants on the seedling rows, thereby improving the fertilizer utilization rate.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, it also includes shortening the leaf node distance, improving ventilation and disease resistance, and bringing the plant to market earlier by implementing growth control management measures (such as reasonable water and fertilizer regulation, pruning and other conventional agronomic methods, and a small amount of plant growth regulators may be used when necessary, but these are not essential technical features of the present invention).

[0009] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. Significantly reduced planting costs: By adopting the "planting two rows and leaving two rows empty" model, the empty rows do not require mulching or base fertilizer, reducing mulch film usage by 50% per acre. Concentrated fertilizer application reduces waste, resulting in a total fertilizer reduction of over 40%. Drip irrigation tape is laid between the two rows, saving 75% on usage. Simultaneously, the empty rows provide access for field operations, facilitating the entry of small tractors, sprayers, and other machinery, reducing labor costs by over 30%.

[0010] 2. Improves field ventilation and significantly reduces disease resistance: The two empty rows form a natural ventilation channel, which greatly improves the field microclimate, reduces humidity between rows, and effectively prevents the occurrence of common pumpkin diseases such as powdery mildew and downy mildew, reducing the incidence of diseases by more than 50%.

[0011] 3. Concentrated fertilizer and high utilization rate: All base fertilizer is applied only to the two rows of seedlings, and the fertilizer is concentrated around the plant roots, which reduces the waste and loss of fertilizer in empty rows, improves the fertilizer utilization rate, and reduces the risk of non-point source pollution.

[0012] 4. Effective prevention and control of sunburn: Intercropping corn in open rows can significantly reduce the damage of strong sunlight to pumpkin fruits in summer by utilizing the natural shading effect of corn plants, reducing the incidence of sunburn from 20%-30% in conventional planting to below 5%.

[0013] 5. High pollination and fruit set rate: Combining natural pollination by bees with artificial pollination or hormone-induced flower application, it further reduces labor costs, and the fruit develops more naturally, with a more regular shape and a higher marketable rate.

[0014] 6. Shorten leaf node distance, improve ventilation and disease resistance, and bring the plant to market earlier: Under the premise of keeping the number of seedlings per mu unchanged, combined with reasonable growth control management, the plant’s vegetative growth can be transformed into reproductive growth faster, and the leaf node distance can be shortened by 50%, which can improve ventilation, increase fruit setting rate, and increase disease resistance, yield and income.

[0015] 7. High overall benefits: Through systematic innovation in agronomic measures, this invention has achieved breakthroughs in reducing costs, mitigating diseases, increasing yield and quality, and shortening the growth cycle. The overall economic benefits are more than 30% higher than those of traditional planting methods. Detailed Implementation

[0016] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this invention will be described more clearly and completely below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0017] Example 1: Pumpkin Cultivation Method Based on Interval Planting Pattern This embodiment provides a cost-effective and efficient pumpkin cultivation method, as detailed below: At a pumpkin planting base in Xinjiang, a flat, well-drained plot of land was selected. A planting pattern of "two rows planted, two rows left empty" was adopted, with each row 60cm wide and the furrow 40cm wide. The two planted rows were treated as follows: 2000kg of well-rotted farmyard manure and 50kg of compound fertilizer were applied per mu (approximately 0.067 hectares) as base fertilizer, then the rows were raised and covered with plastic film, with a drip irrigation tape laid along the center line of the row under the film. The two empty rows were not covered with plastic film or any base fertilizer was applied. The seedling density was maintained at 667 plants per mu (i.e., 10,000 plants per hectare). Corn was intercropped on the empty rows in early May, with a plant spacing of 40cm. Simultaneously, one standard beehive was placed in the field for every 30 mu (approximately 2 hectares) for natural pollination by bees.

[0018] Field Management: The planting ridges are managed with normal water and fertilizer through a drip irrigation system. Empty ridges are not irrigated or fertilized; they serve only as passageways for machinery, corn growing areas, and ventilation channels. During the high-temperature season of July and August, observations showed that the intercropped corn, once mature, provided effective shade for the pumpkin fruits on the adjacent planting ridges. Excessive vine growth was prevented by controlling nitrogen fertilizer application and timely pruning.

[0019] Results: Compared with conventional full-ridge mulching, fertilization, and dense planting methods, this model: The amount of plastic film used was reduced by 50%, the amount of drip irrigation tape used was reduced by 75%, and the amount of fertilizer used was reduced by 40%.

[0020] The well-ventilated open-ridge area had a powdery mildew incidence rate of only 2.1%, compared to 18.6% in the control area.

[0021] It facilitates the entry of small tractors into empty rows for spraying, weeding and other operations, reducing labor costs by 35%.

[0022] The fruit set rate with bee pollination is as high as 92%, which is 40% higher than that with natural pollination.

[0023] The incidence of sunburn was 4.2%, far lower than the 28.6% in the control area.

[0024] The fruit set 8 days earlier than the traditional method, allowing for earlier market availability.

[0025] Example 2: Verification of the effect of intercropping combined with growth control This embodiment, based on Embodiment 1, sets up different treatment groups for comparison to verify the overall effect of the present invention. The experiment was conducted in a pumpkin growing area in Shandong Province, and the following four treatments were set: Treatment A (the present invention group): plant two rows and leave two rows empty, intercrop corn in the empty rows, pollinate with bees, and control excessive growth using conventional methods (water and fertilizer + pruning).

[0026] Treatment B (traditional dense planting group): conventional equal row spacing, each ridge is covered with film, fertilized, and drip irrigation tape is laid, no intercropping, natural pollination.

[0027] Treatment C (interval planting without intercropping): Two rows were planted and two rows were left empty. No intercropping was done in the empty rows. The rest was the same as in Treatment A.

[0028] Treatment D (interval planting + intercropping + growth control + bees): This is the complete solution of the present invention.

[0029] The results are shown in the table below:

[0030] The results showed that the complete scheme of the present invention (treatment D) had the best overall benefits, with a yield per mu increased by 62.0% compared with the traditional model, a cost reduction of 44.6%, a significant reduction in diseases, and a shortening of the fruiting time by 8 days.

[0031] Example 3: Comparison Experiment with Different Interval Patterns To verify the superiority of the "two rows planted, two rows left empty" pattern, different interval ratios were set for comparison. The experiment was conducted at a pumpkin farm in Inner Mongolia, with a fixed number of seedlings per mu (approximately 0.067 hectares). The following treatments were set: Treatment 1: Plant 1 row and leave 1 row empty Process 2: Plant 2 rows and leave 2 rows empty (Solution of this invention) Treatment 3: Plant 3 rows and leave 1 row empty. Treatment 4: Traditional full planting (no empty rows) All treatments used the same base fertilizer, mulch film, and drip irrigation tape management (no mulch film or fertilizer was applied to empty rows), intercropped with corn, pollinated by bees, and conventional growth control was applied.

[0032] The results are as follows:

[0033] The results showed that the 2-row planting with 2-row spacing was the best in terms of agricultural input saving, ventilation, ease of mechanized operation, and yield, making it the optimal spacing ratio. While the 1-row planting with 1-row spacing also saved half the amount of plastic film, the drip irrigation tape only saved 50%, and its ventilation and operational convenience were inferior to this scheme. The 3-row planting with 1-row spacing had no significant advantage due to the narrow spacing between the rows.

[0034] Example 4: Verification of Bee Pollination Effect Based on Example 1, a bee-pollinated group and a natural pollination group (without bees) were set up for comparison, with all other conditions being exactly the same.

[0035]

[0036] The results showed that natural pollination by bees significantly improved the fruit setting rate and the weight of individual melons, reduced the rate of deformed fruits, and increased the yield per mu by 44.0%, which is an important part of the technical solution of this invention.

[0037] In summary, the cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing pumpkin intercropping method provided by this invention, through the core agronomic innovation of "planting two rows and leaving two rows empty", combined with supporting measures such as intercropping with corn, bee pollination, and reasonable growth control, achieves significant yield increase, quality improvement, disease resistance, and early maturity of pumpkin cultivation without increasing or even significantly reducing input.

[0038] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A cost-effective and efficient pumpkin cultivation method, characterized in that: The planting pattern includes a field planting pattern in which seedlings are planted on two rows and two rows are left empty. The two rows with seedlings are covered with mulch and drip irrigation tape is laid on them, while the two empty rows are not covered with mulch and no base fertilizer is applied.

2. The method for cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing pumpkin cultivation according to claim 1, characterized in that: Corn or soybeans are intercropped on the two empty rows.

3. The method for cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing pumpkin cultivation according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drip irrigation tape is laid between the two rows of seedlings, and the amount of drip irrigation tape used per acre is one-quarter of that used in the traditional planting method; and the number of seedlings per acre remains unchanged at 10,000 per hectare.

4. The method for cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing pumpkin cultivation according to claim 1, characterized in that: This also includes placing beehives in the fields to utilize bees for natural pollination.

5. The method for cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing pumpkin cultivation according to claim 1, characterized in that: Base fertilizer is applied to the two rows where seedlings are planted, while no base fertilizer is applied to the two empty rows, so that the fertilizer is concentrated on the pumpkin plants on the seedling rows.

6. The method for cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing pumpkin cultivation according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that: This also includes measures to control excessive growth, such as shortening the internode distance of leaves while keeping the number of seedlings per acre unchanged, which is beneficial for field ventilation and disease resistance.

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