Greenhouse Strawberry and Bitter Melon Intercropping Technology
Mnvr Camera Systems,Truck Dvr Camera System,Gps Positioning Surveillance Video Recorder,Wireless Hd Mobile Dvr Vsstech Co.,Ltd. , https://www.vsstechcctv.com
Greenhouse intercropping of strawberries and bitter gourds is an innovative agricultural technique that enhances land use efficiency and maximizes yield benefits. This method not only optimizes space but also improves crop health and productivity. Below are the detailed cultivation methods for both crops.
**Strawberry Cultivation Techniques**
1. **Variety Selection**: Choose high-quality varieties suitable for greenhouse conditions, such as Japanese Tokama, which thrive in controlled environments.
2. **Nursery Management**:
- **Mother Plant Selection**: Select vigorous, disease-free plants with distinct characteristics.
- **Planting Mother Plants**: From mid-March to mid-April, plant mother plants with soil, removing old leaves and flower stems. Space them 80–100 cm apart in a single row.
- **Care for Mother Plants**: Use arched sheds for insulation and moisture control. Apply gibberellin to promote stolon growth. Fertilize with nitrogen every 15–20 days until mid-July. Remove flowers and early stolons during flowering. Ensure proper orientation of runners and manage pests during rainy seasons with shading nets during hot periods.
- **Promoting Flower Bud Formation**: Implement short-day treatment by shading plants for one month before planting, using black or silver film to limit daylight to under 10 hours daily.
3. **Soil Preparation and Fertilization**: Use organic manure (5,000 kg/667 sq.m), chicken manure (2,000 kg), and cake fertilizer (30–40 kg) or compound fertilizer (30–40 kg). Mix thoroughly into the soil, creating raised beds of 6 inches in height, 60–70 cm wide, and 30–40 cm between rows.
4. **Timely Planting**: Plant in mid-August to mid-September. Choose seedlings with 5–6 unfolded leaves, well-developed roots, and no diseases. Water after planting and limit nitrogen fertilizer to encourage runner development.
5. **Field Management**:
- **Mulching**: Cover plants with mulch once the first axillary buds appear in late October to prevent dormancy.
- **Fertilizer Application**: Apply 2–3 top-dressings throughout the growing season. The first is nitrogen-rich, the second includes nitrogen and potassium, and the third uses phosphorus and potassium after harvest.
- **Pruning**: Keep 12–15 healthy leaves per plant, remove old and diseased ones, and trim inflorescences after fruit harvesting to stimulate new growth.
- **Pest Control**: Prevent diseases like "old age sickness" through good ventilation and treatments like quick keratin or smoked spirit.
**Bitter Gourd Cultivation Techniques**
1. **Variety Selection**: Opt for strong-growing, heat-resistant, and disease-resistant varieties like Changbai or Qingfeng bitter gourd.
2. **Seedling Sowing**: Sow seeds in mid-January. Soak seeds before germination, then transplant into nutrient-rich soil. Maintain a temperature of 25–30°C during the day and 15–18°C at night. Provide sufficient light and water sparingly. Begin foliar spraying every 3–4 days from the two-leaf stage.
3. **Planting**: Transplant seedlings when the ground temperature stabilizes above 10°C. Plant on both sides and in the middle of the greenhouse. Add a small amount of compound fertilizer in each hole. Space plants 50 cm apart for pruning and 100 cm for non-pruned varieties. Avoid direct contact between roots and fertilizer, expose cotyledons, and water after planting.
4. **Field Management**:
- **Weeding**: Perform initial weeding 4–5 days after planting, digging 7–10 cm deep. A second weeding occurs two weeks later at 3–5 cm depth. No further weeding once trellises are set up.
- **Fertilization**: Apply diluted human excrement 2–3 days after planting, then again before flowering and after two harvests. Combine nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and consider foliar feeding.
- **Removing Strawberries**: After one week of planting bitter gourds, remove strawberry plants near the edges. By late April, all strawberries should be removed.
- **Vine Training**: Guide vines to the center of the greenhouse. Tie them every 4–5 nodes once they reach 30 cm.
- **Pruning**: After the main vine reaches 1 m, select two strong side vines. Remove some female flowers and unopened male flowers to balance fruit production.
This integrated approach ensures efficient use of space, better resource management, and increased overall yield in greenhouse farming.