Melon, widely cultivated in many regions, often encounters various diseases during its growth, such as sudden wilt, blight, vine decline, and blight. Below is an introduction to comprehensive control measures for melon diseases.
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Selection of Disease-resistant Varieties: Choose disease-resistant varieties, such as Red Sweet Crisp, Honeydew Bliss, Golden Sweet Jewel, etc.
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Crop Rotation and Non-Crop Plants: Implement crop rotation for 3-4 years, preferably 5 years or more, or rotate between wet and dry fields to reduce various soil-borne diseases like wilt.
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Seed Disinfection: Soak melon seeds in 55°C warm water for 15 minutes, wash and dry them before sowing. Alternatively, soak them in a 10% solution of trisodium phosphate for 20 minutes, then rinse with clean water before sowing.
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Field Management: Control watering and prevent waterlogging in fields. Reduce watering after fruit enlargement stops, and avoid watering in early ripening cultivation.
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Field Cleaning: Thoroughly clean the field after harvest. Do not pile diseased residues near the greenhouse; burn them instead. Weed regularly during the growing season, remove diseased leaves, and gather weeds, residues, and diseased leaves for centralized burning outside the field.
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Pruning and Training: Prune and train melon plants appropriately according to the variety to avoid excessive wounds and reduce the chance of pathogen invasion.
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Chemical Control: For underground pests during the seedling stage, use bait to lure and kill them, or apply chemicals to the soil. Use 80% wettable powder of dichlorvos or 50% emulsifiable concentrate of dimethoate, diluted at a ratio of 1:100 for bait. Aphids and leafhoppers can be controlled by applying insecticides such as malathion or acaricides like chlorpyrifos. Spray insecticides like imidacloprid to control aphids, or use acaricides such as trichlorfon or fenitrothion to control leaf mites, or use insecticides like malathion or dimethoate to control leafhoppers, melon flies, and thrips.
The above is an introduction to comprehensive control measures for melon diseases. Implementing effective control measures for melon diseases can significantly improve melon quality and yield.
