How to pinch melons correctly?

Melon is a drought-resistant plant. Its roots reach about a meter into the soil, where they draw moisture. A lack of moisture can damage the leaves, while excess moisture can lead to disease. Therefore, it requires proper pinching at all stages of development. What is the correct pinching pattern, when should this procedure be performed, and what mistakes can be made?

Basics of Melon Pinching

1. Melons produce female flowers, which bear fruit only on third-order branches. Therefore, it's crucial to ensure their safety. Damaging them is absolutely undesirable.
2. There should only be one shoot on the stem—only the strongest ones should be left. All the others must be pinched out. Otherwise, the bush will begin to grow, and the young branches will drain all the juices from the fruit-bearing ones.
3. Each plant should have no more than 5-7 fruits. The larger the number, the fewer. If you don't follow this rule, the fruits will become smaller and tasteless.

The correct pinching pattern (procedure)

The sequence must be followed in any case, otherwise the yield will drop sharply. Sequence:

1. Fruits form on the lateral parts of the bush. You need to wait until the first 6-7 leaves appear. After these, ovaries and flowers will begin to develop.
2. The growing point is always removed so that the juices flow only to the fruit-bearing branches.
3. After the 8th leaf emerges, pinch around the 4th leaf. Several shoots will then emerge, but only a couple of the strongest should be left. These are also pinched above the 6th and 7th leaves.
4. Once the branches have formed, you should leave only 6-7 – these will form the ovaries and bear fruit. It's important to leave only those closest to the trunk. This ensures they receive maximum energy. All other branches should be pinched if they produce very small melons.
5. After two to three weeks, all fruiting shoots are pruned at the top, and the remaining shoots are pinched above the 5th or 6th leaf. Flowers are also removed. To prevent rot, small pieces of plywood should be placed underneath the melons.

Pinching pattern

The basic pinching scheme is based on 3 stages of plant development:

1. At the stage of transplanting seedlings.
2. When the first 6-7 leaves are formed.
3. During the formation of the first ovaries.

This method involves removing all small and weak branches that cannot bear fruit. Then, all pinched areas are treated with sulfur, charcoal, or limestone to prevent further branch growth from these areas and protect the plant from various pests and diseases.

How pinching can affect yield

Removing the growing points on the bush has a positive effect on the taste of the fruit and the overall yield, accelerating growth and ripening. Pinching encourages the formation of lateral ovaries on the bush. Nutrients are delivered directly to the fruit, not the branches. Melon bears fruit a week or two earlier.

If you neglect pinching, mature melon bushes may fail to produce a single melon. This is because, with this approach, lateral ovaries will either fail to form or will be too few in number and rarely bear fruit.

Pinching at the seedling stage

When the melon sprouts are still quite small, the first stage of pinching can be carried out. The key is for the seedlings to develop 5-6 full-fledged leaf blades. After this procedure, the main stem will grow in the axil of the main leaf, and the main stems will form in the axils of the remaining leaves.

Pinching when growing plants vertically

In greenhouse conditions, plants are trained to a single stem, and the others are removed. This is the second pinching, performed when the central shoot reaches 2 meters. All side branches are removed at 3-4 leaves, if they do not have ovaries.

Pollination is also important when growing melons in greenhouses, as bees rarely enter the room and humidity is high. This must be done manually. If this process is neglected, fruit ovaries may not form.

Pinching when growing horizontally

It's used for melons grown in the garden. It's not suitable for greenhouse plants, as it's impractical due to the small space and the risk of infection caused by excessive humidity (which is simply inevitable, as the soil will be constantly overgrown with melon branches) and poor lighting.

When growing spreading plants, remove the smallest shoot as soon as three shoots form (after the first pinching). This procedure should be performed after 5-7 leaves appear.

The last, third pinching is carried out at the stage of ovary formation:

• small, weak, non-fruit-bearing branches are removed;
• remove all ovaries above the 5-6th leaf from the first melon;
• All treated areas are lubricated with sulfur, coal or limestone.

How to pinch early and late melon varieties

Early-ripening varieties are formed solely by harvesting the main branch, and then the number of ovaries is controlled, as these bushes produce fruit very quickly and require much less nutrition and energy than late-ripening varieties. The timing of pinching depends not only on the germination method but also on the fruiting period.

Late-ripening varieties are pruned more frequently, and fewer fruit-bearing branches are left on them. This helps shorten their ripening time and saves labor. Pinching scheme for late-ripening melons:

Possible errors

1. Pinch the fruit using the same principle as watermelon. Watermelon ovaries form on the central shoot, while melon ovaries form on the lateral shoots.
2. Pinching only the side shoots is exactly the opposite mistake.
3. Not monitoring plants, allowing them to grow.

Conclusions

Melon pinching should be done strictly according to a specific procedure and only at a specific stage of plant development. It's always important to follow the basic pinching guidelines and not ignore the information on pinching different varieties. Avoiding common mistakes is also crucial.