Chayote field management, chayote planting techniques

Everyone knows that chayote has high nutritional value, but growing chayote is not so easy. Let’s take a look at the introduction below;

1) Preparation of planting holes.

Before transplanting, the planting holes should be prepared in advance. After deep plowing, dig a planting hole about 1 meter deep and 1.5-2 square meters wide. Apply 25 kg of organic fertilizer and about 5 kg of plant ash to each hole. The fertilizer should be fully mixed with the soil. Plant the seeds the next day after irrigation. When planting, add a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer near the plant hole so that the seedlings can get nutrients in time after taking root.

2) Planting.

When planting in the open field on a large scale, the planting time should not be too early and should be carried out after the last frost. If you use the courtyards in front and behind the house for planting, you can plant earlier, but after planting, you need to set up a small 50-100 cm high plastic film shed to prevent cold winds and keep warm and moisturize. Even if you plant after the frost has stopped, if you add a small plastic film shed immediately after planting, it will also be beneficial to the growth of chayote seedlings. The planting density is generally 375 plants per hectare, and the land with poor fertility should not be less than 450 plants. Plant more than 2 plants in the courtyard to facilitate cross-pollination.

3) Fertilizer and water management.

After planting, water thoroughly to allow the roots to take root. However, do not water heavily within one month after planting. Just water sparingly to prevent rot and root rot and to maintain survival rate. Keep the planting hole moist. Chayote grows slowly during the seedling stage, but grows faster after July, and the need for water increases. In order to keep the soil moist, cover with plastic film. During the fruiting period, water heavily every 3-5 days if it is sunny, but do not allow water to accumulate.

The topdressing of chayote should be done early rather than late. The first topdressing should be done in early June. Apply 1 kg of compound fertilizer to each plant. After digging a shallow circular ditch 30-40 cm away from the melon seedling, evenly spread the fertilizer and cover it with soil. The second topdressing should be done in early July. Apply 10 kg of decomposed human feces and urine, 1 kg of superphosphate and plant ash, or about 5 kg of fermented sesame paste water (1:5) to each plant. Apply it in the circular ditch 60-70 cm away from the melon seedling, and cover it with the original soil after the fertilizer seeps in. The third topdressing should be done in mid-August. The amount of fertilizer should be determined according to the growth of the plant. This time, the fertilizer should be applied farther away from the melon vine. Pay attention to the coordination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers each time you topdress, and each time you topdress should be combined with watering. After the small melons are formed, you should irrigate more frequently to maintain the humidity of the field soil.

4) Build a scaffold and prune the vines

Chayote should be planted on a shed. This should be done when the seedlings are 0.5-1 meter tall. The shed should be firm to prevent it from being blown down by the wind. In the early stage, manual assistance is needed to tie the vines to the shed and evenly distribute them on the shed. Chayote can also be planted on the ground, but it is not easy to harvest, difficult to manage, and has a low yield.

When planted in the courtyard, it can be allowed to climb the top of the wall, haystack or platform house and livestock shed. The sub-vines and grandchild vines of Chayote bear fruits early. After the plant is planted, the main vine is cut off, leaving about 30 cm long. When the sub-vine grows to about 150 cm, the sub-vine tip is cut off. After the grandchild vine grows, it is allowed to grow indefinitely.

5) Protect flowers and fruits.

When cultivated in northern regions, female flowers of chayote begin to appear in late August, but male flowers bloom five or six days later than female flowers. Early-blooming female flowers often wither and turn yellow due to failure to pollinate. You can spray 15-20 mg/L of gibberellin solution to promote early male flowers to bloom, or dip 10-20 mg/L of tomato spirit on the stigma of female flowers, so that early-blooming female flowers can produce seedless melons and be put on the market earlier.