Sweet Melon and Watermelon Production: 100 Questions and Answers on Key Technologies

Author: Ma Shuangwu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Watermelon and melon are not only rich in nutrients but also have the effects of relieving heat or quenching thirst. They are popular summer fruits enjoyed by people. The cultivation of watermelon and melon in China has a long history, especially with significant development in the middle and late 1980s. According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in 2003, China's watermelon cultivation area was 2,199,000 hectares, and the melon cultivation area was 509,000 hectares, accounting for 58.2% and 40.3% of the global watermelon and melon cultivation areas, respectively. China is a major producer of watermelon and melon, and the cultivation of these crops has become a pillar industry for farmers to increase their income. This book is based on the absorption of new technologies, achievements, and experiences in watermelon and melon cultivation both domestically and internationally, combined with the author's many years of research and extension work at the Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The book is divided into nineteen parts, with the first fourteen parts providing detailed introductions to the variety selection, seedling technology, open-field cultivation, mulch film coverage, small arch greenhouses, plastic large greenhouses, intercropping of melons and grains, grafted watermelons, seedless watermelons, and pollution-free watermelon cultivation—new practical technologies—as well as watermelon harvesting, storage, and processing techniques. The last five parts mainly introduce the variety selection, open-field and protected cultivation—new practical technologies—as well as the identification and control techniques for major pests, diseases, and weeds in watermelon and melon cultivation. The content of the book is comprehensive, easy to understand, and accessible. Where language alone is insufficient to explain the issues, illustrations are provided, making it an excellent guidebook for watermelon and melon cultivation, suitable for to read. Watermelon and melon cultivation technology is an agricultural science with both a serious and a flexible side. It is hoped that this book will help to learn and apply it flexibly in practice, continuously improving it.