Cultural Practices in Vine Crops for Yield and Quality Gordon Johnson Extension Fruit and Vegetable Specialist University of Delaware Vine Crops Squash Group A • Cucurbita pepo – Summer squashes – Most pumpkins – Ornamental gourds – Acorn squash – Dumpling squash – Delicata squash – Spaghetti squash Squash Group B • Cucurbita moschata – Butternut squash – Necks • Winter Crooknecks • Neck pumpkins – Cheese or wheel pumpkins – Processing pumpkins • Dickenson field – Calabaza • Tropical pumpkins – Golden Cushaw Squash Group C • Cucurbita maxima – Giant Pumpkins – Turban squashes – Hubbard/Delicious squashes – Buttercup squashes – Kabocha squashes – Cinderella/Wheel pumpkins – Banana and Roaster squashes Squash Group D • Cucurbita argyrosperma (Cucurbita mixta) – Cushaw squashes – Japanese pie squashes Cucumber Group Cucumis melo Group Citrullus - Watermelon Group Lagenaria siceraria – Bottle Gourd Luffa acutangula, Luffa cylindrica Other Edible Cucurbit Species • Snake Gourd • Bitter Gourd • Wax Gourd • Choyote Interspecific Cucurbita • Rootstocks Hybrids • Processing Squash • Improved Fruit Quality • Bridges for Breeding – Disease and insect resistance Plant Forms in Vine Crops Bush Semi-Bush Plant Forms Small-Medium Vine Long vine Selecting for compact forms – short internode, bush types Monoecious Except Muskmelons UD Cooperative 17 Extension Gynoecious – Mostly Female Pollination Female Flowers Male Flowers 5-10 for every female Bee Pollination Qualities Honey Bee vs. Bumble Bee Bumble Bee • Buzz Pollination • Long tongue • Forage temperature/weather Pollination • Insect pollination • Native squash bees important in squashes and pumpkins • Add honey bee hives • Flowers open only a few hours – one day • Fruit abortion – Stress such as heat Importance of Squash Bees in Squashes – Lack of pollination and Pumpkins Parthenocarpy Keys with Muskmelons and Specialty Melons • Varieties – Athena-class eastern muskmelons PM resistant – Select specialty types – high sugar, low crack • 125-150 N, 100-250 K2O • B, Mg also needed for sugars • Plastic mulch, drip – Even irrigation 60 % FC minimum • Foliage health • Cucumber beetle control • Avoid phytotoxicities • Avoiding gluts – Many small plantings • Pollination Muskmelon Trial – July harvest Average Average Submitting Yield Submitting Variety Yield (lbs/A) Melon Variety Melon Company (melons/A) Company Weight (lbs) Weight (lbs) Minerva 37489 a 7.8 check Halona 6154 a 4.9 check Orange Sherbet 35290 ab 7.1 Seedway Dacona 4978 ab 4.9 Siegers Grand Slam 32432 abc 6.8 Siegers Strike 4978 ab 5.9 Seedway 1136 30588 abc 9.0 Siegers Orange Sherbet 4909 ab 7.1 Seedway Halona 30500 abc 4.9 check Grand Slam 4771 abc 6.8 Siegers 1029 30300 abc 7.6 Siegers Atlantis 4771 abc 6.2 Siegers Atlantis 29826 abcd 6.2 Siegers Minerva 4771 abc 7.8 check Strike 29454 abcd 5.9 Seedway Athena 4633 bcd 6.2 Syngenta Athena 28865 abcd 6.2 Syngenta Jaipur 4494 bcde 5.8 check Superstar 28369 abcd 6.6 Harris Moran Ariel 4425 bcde 6.2 Syngenta Diva 27970 abcd 7.0 Harris Moran Superstar 4356 bcde 6.6 Harris Moran Ariel 27627 abcd 6.2 Syngenta Home Run 4287 bcde 5.4 Siegers Eclipse 27343 bcd 6.7 check Diva 4011 bcdef 7.0 Harris Moran Aphrodite 26181 bcde 7.9 Syngenta Eclipse 4011 bcdef 6.7 check Jaipur 26132 bcde 5.8 check 1032 3941 bcdef 5.9 Siegers Dacona 24797 cde 4.9 Siegers 1029 3941 bcdef 7.6 Siegers 1032 23558 cdef 5.9 Siegers Primo 3941 bcdef 5.1 check Home Run 23300 cdef 5.4 Siegers Goddess 3457 cdef 4.7 check Primo 20051 def 5.1 check 1136 3388 cdef 9.0 Siegers Goddess 16538 efg 4.7 check Aphrodite 3319 def 7.9 Syngenta Caribbean Gold 14465 fg 5.3 Siegers Riviera Sweet 3181 ef 2.8 Harris Moran Riviera Sweet 9422 g 2.8 Harris Moran Caribbean Gold 2697 f 5.3 Siegers p-value 0.0002 p-value 0.0057 LSD 9986.7 LSD 1386.5 Muskmelon Trial – High Yielding Varieties Minerva Grand Slam Halona Muskmelon trial – High Yielding Varieties Orange Sherbet Atlantis Strike Muskmelon Trial – Soluble Solids Variety % Soluble Solids Riviera Sweet 14.4 a Caribbean Gold 13.3 b Goddess 11.3 c Minerva 11.2 cd 1032 10.7 cde Grand Slam 10.6 cdef Athena 10.6 cdef Riviera Sweet Orange Sherbet 10.6 cdef Aphrodite 10.5 cdefg Primo 10.4 cdefg Jaipur 10.4 cdefg Dacona 10.3 defg Halona 10.1 efgh Eclipse 10.1 efghi Atlantis 9.8 efghi Home Run 9.7 fghi Caribbean Gold 1136 9.7 fghi Strike 9.6 ghi Ariel 9.2 hi Diva 9.1 i 1029 8.0 j Superstar 7.4 j p-value <0.0001 LSD 0.99 Goddess Specialty Melons Keys with Watermelons • Varieties – Wide adaptation seedless varieties – Pollenizer selection • Pollination • Rotation • 125-150 N, 100-200 K • Plastic mulch, drip – Even irrigation 60 % FC minimum • Foliage and vine health • Mite, cuke beetle, aphid control • 2-4 plantings 37 38 39 Watermelons Triploid Seedless What Happened to Seeded Watermelons? Growing Seedless Watermelon Transplants Insulated Sidewalls Temperature Controls “Home-made” germination chamber Special Pollenizers Wild Card Plus Pollen Pro Pollination Systems X X XO X X XO X X XO X Coplant 1 of 3 X X X O X X X O X X X O X Between 3 and 4 X X X O X X X O X X Every 4 holes X X X X X X X X X X X Every third row X X X X X X X X X X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Flowering 46 Pollination 47 Fruit Set 48 Fruit Set 49 Pollination Problem - • Delayed flowering Reduced Pollen Production – Pollenizer variety – Cold weather – Pollenizers replaced • Management – Too much N? – Pollenizer selection • Low male flower numbers – Mixed pollenizers – Pollenizer variety – Extra pollenizers – Pollenizer vigor, health – Loss of pollenizers – Extra bees • Poor transplanting weather – Maintain vigor • Disease • Stops flowering, flowering reduced – Manage disease, – Pollenizer age, fruit load mites, insects – Pollenizer vigor, health – Eliminate damage • Flowers damaged potential – Chemical injury, fertilizer injury Cooperative Extension 50 Pollination Problem Reduced Pollen Transfer • Reduced bee flights • Management – Cold weather – Extra bees – Windy weather – Bumblebees? – Rainy, stormy weather – Proper timing • Reduced bees – Pesticide management – Poor colony strength – Bee kills with pesticides – More attractive crops near – Placing hives too early or too late Cooperative Extension 51 Delaware Seedless Watermelon Variety Trials 2016-2018 Gordon Johnson Extension Fruit and Vegetable Specialist Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware UD Cooperative Extension http://extension.udel.edu/ag/vegetable-fruit- resources/vegetable-small-fruits-program/variety-trial- results/ 53 2016 Seedless Trial 54 2017 Seedless Trial 55 2018 Seedless Trial 56 Top Group 2016-2018 All 3 years 2 of 3 years • 7187 (4,17,10) • Premont (3, 13) • Crunchy Red (3, 5, 7) • Road Trip (7, 12) • Maxima (1, 14, 2) • Bottle Rocket (8, 5) • Fascination (6g, 8, 15) • 7197 (12, 15) 57 2018 Watermelon Variety Trials Gordon Johnson Extension Fruit and Vegetable Specialist Department of Plant and Soil Sciences University of Delaware UD Cooperative Extension Variety Trial Information • 36 Varieties • Planted May 22 • 10 Companies • Harvested 3 times • 4 Replications – 8/8 first harvest • UD REC • Individual weights • 9 plant plots, 4 • Soluble solids pollenizers (SP7, • Hard Seed Accomplice, Pollen • Hollow Heart Wingman, Ace +) • Flooded 6/9, delayed harvest 3 weeks 59 Watermelon plant in saturated bed conditions after flooding showing little growth. Oxygen starvation to vegetable roots will cause roots to cease to function resulting in plant stunting, or collapse, with limited recovery potential. For this plant to recover the bed must dry out and aerate enough for the plant to fully regenerate roots. 60 6/29 Our watermelon variety trial stopped growing and aborted fruits after the flooding but has now fully recovered and plants are starting to fill in. The beds were allowed to dry out for 9 days after flooding and then the crop was fertigated with nitrogen and sulfur. New fruits are now being set but the trial will have few early watermelons. 61 Varieties Syngenta • Captivation* • Fascination* • Excursion 62 Varieties Nunhems (BASF) • 7187* • 7197* • 9601 • Warrior* • Embasy* 63 Varieties Seminis • Joy Ride* • Road Trip* • Summer Breeze* • Bottle Rocket* • Tailgate* • SV 0241 WA* 64 Varieties Sakata • Charismatic* • Kingman* • Secretariat* • Unbridled* • Eclipse 65 Varieties Origene • Maxima* • ORS 6151* • ORS 6181 • ORS 6260 • ORS 6203 • ORS 6064 • ORS 60599 66 Varieties – Harris Moran (HM Clause) • Crunchy Red* • Turnpike • Troubadour 67 Varieties – Other Entries • Sostena – Talca* – Paradigm • Enza Zaden – Red Amber* – Red Garnet • Highmark – Wolverine* • Clifton – Premont* – Cut Above 68 Selecting Varieties • Yield • Flesh density • Maturity • Limited defects • Longevity – Hollow heart • Size Distribution • Plant vigor • Appearance • Disease resistance – Rind color – Fusarium – Shape – Anthracnose • Quality – Soluble solids (sugar) 69 Top Yielders 2018 Variety Lbs./a No./a Paradigm 131904 9046 Maxima 128276 7663 9601 126470 9046 ORS 60599 124292 8182 Unbridled 121867 8240 ORS 6181 B 120354 7894 Crunchy Red 116774 8412 Embasy 108324 7375 Charismatic 105481 7087 7187 104405 6914 Summer Breeze 101692 6972 Road Trip 97807 6453 Premont 97645 6972 Secretariat 96624 6972 Fascination 92604 6453 Kingman 92319 6396 Joy Ride 9226270 5704 Over 40% 60 Count • 7187, Summer Breeze, 7197, Cut Above, Premont, 9601, Crunchy Red, Secretariat, 0241 WA, ORS 6151, ORS 6064, Troubadour, and Eclipse. Troubadour 71 Over 40% 45 Count • All varieties had greater than 40% of the melons harvested in the 45-count class, except for Troubadour, Eclipse, and Summer