Pepino: features of cultivation and reproduction
Long-term communication with pepino made it possible to know (although not completely) its biological characteristics, technology of cultivation. But most importantly, it was possible to adapt the perennial shrub semi-lignified plant, an inhabitant of the southern area, to our conditions and cultivate it as an annual plant in the open ground, receiving a crop of wonderful fruits.
The agricultural technology of our new crop is similar to the agricultural technology of tomato, with the exception, perhaps, of preserving the mother plants in the winter.
Pepino can be propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seeds from grown fruits have high sowing qualities - germination and germination energy. We sow seeds in late January-early February in a light and loose soil mixture. They are small, therefore we do not embed them in the soil, but only slightly sprinkle them.
To preserve moisture, cover the vegetation with film or glass. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 26–28 ° С. Shoots appear in 5-7 days. In a phase of two or three true leaves, seedlings dive into pots and glasses, deepening them to the cotyledons. To prevent black leg disease, we use steamed soil mixture or pre-spill it in planting containers with a potassium permanganate solution. We cover pickled seedlings with a film (over arcs) to maintain air humidity and better survival of seedlings. In the first month they grow very slowly and by the time of planting in open ground they reach 8-10 cm in height, forming 7-8 leaves.
Now we have simplified the cultivation of seedlings. After checking the germination ability, we sow immediately 2-3 pcs. into the cups. In them, plants develop (without diving) before planting in open ground. Expedition helps to accelerate the development of seedlings. Time is saved and the root system of plants is not injured once again.
To grow pepino from seeds in a protected and open ground, you should know that even under favorable conditions, not all varieties of pepino give full-fledged seeds. Due to the splitting of varietal characters, seedlings not only bloom late, but also form heterogeneous fruits, which leads to a loss in the purity of the variety.
The most reliable way to propagate and grow pepino rooted cuttings. Separate cuttings from overwintered plants should begin in mid-February. To do this, cut off the apical part of the shoot with 7 leaves. The lower 2 leaves are removed, and the next 2-3 are cut in half to reduce the evaporation of moisture. With a lack of uterine plants, the lower part of the shoot with 4-5 internodes can also be used as planting material, also removing and shortening leaves.
It is best to root the cuttings in a standard cutter, if not, in a shallow container. Tightly place the cuttings in the container should not be. There should be enough water so that the lower leaves of the cuttings do not sink into it.
Pepino cuttings root almost 100% without any stimulants. At normal room temperature (20-24 ° C) after 5-7 days, roots 1.5–2.0 cm or more in length grow on cuttings in mass. This is the most favorable time for planting rooted cuttings in seedlings or disposable plastic cups. In the bottom of the cups, you need to make several small holes to drain excess water when watering. The soil in the seedling tank should be as loose as possible, since pepino roots are sensitive to a lack of air in the substrate.
Cuttings can be planted in seedlings and without rooting in water. In this case, they need to pay more attention. Cuttings should be in moist soil and at high humidity. Such cuttings take root in two weeks. It should be remembered that containers with rooted cuttings, with planted rooted cuttings should be under the film to maintain the necessary high humidity during this period.
Soil preparation and seedling planting
Pepino prefers light fertile soils with neutral acidity. The best predecessors are early harvested crops: cucumber, onions, garlic, beans. After harvesting the precursor, we loosen the soil, weed it, we dig it up if possible before the onset of cold weather.
In spring, when the soil ripens, we loosen it to preserve moisture before planting. Before planting seedlings at the place of future rows (the distance between them is 70 cm), we prepare shallow trenches for double the width of the shovel and add organic fertilizer to them: after the fertilized predecessor, well-decomposed manure or compost - 3-4 kg / m2, after not fertilized - 6— 7 kg / m2 and ash.
We plant seedlings in open ground in early May, when the threat of return frosts passes. We orient the rows from north to south, arrange the seedlings in a checkerboard pattern, deepening 2-3 cm lower than it grew in the container. Seedlings are planted in moist soil in the afternoon or in the evening. The distance between plants in the row is 40-50 cm. After planting, water the plants and mulch dry soil. This reduces the evaporation of moisture and improves the conditions for the survival of seedlings. Depending on weather conditions, watering is repeated after 2-3 days.
In recent years, we have planted seedlings at the same time as tomatoes - in mid-April. This allows you to get ripe fruits 2-3 weeks earlier, as well as to extend the growing season and thereby increase plant productivity. To protect pepino from possible frosts, we install a simple structure of wooden blocks or reinforcing wires over the rows of planted plants and cover it with a film or spanbond. Under the film along a row of plants, we lay a drip irrigation tape. Under such conditions, plants take root well and start to grow. When the temperature rises on sunny days (hours), we raise one of the sides of the shelter so that the plants are ventilated and hardened.
We reveal pepino when the weather is stable and stable (usually May 5-10). By this time, the plants have time to take root, grow stronger, they begin intensive growth. Now is the time to install the trellis. Along each row with an interval of 2-3 m we drive into the soil fairly strong supports (thick metal fittings, pipes, etc.) 70–80 cm high. We pull on them in three rows (after 18–20 cm) a single-core wire that does not sag under the weight of the fruit.
2-3 weeks after planting, we begin to form and tie up plants. Usually we leave 2-3 well-developed shoots, the rest are removed without regret. The left shoots are tied to the lower trellis (lower row of wire): the central stem is vertical, the lateral ones are slightly deviated to the sides.
Mandatory reception when growing pepino-stepsonovka. The plant is very bushy and forms many stepsons. Stepsons are removed when they reach 3-5 cm in length, leaving small stumps (0.5-1.0 cm) on the stem, which prevent the appearance of new stepsons in the axils of the same leaves. Plants need to be planted regularly - every week.
As we grow, we tie the stems to a higher trellis. An unbound plant without pinching under the weight of its mass wilts and lays on the soil, the stems take root and practically do not bear fruit.
Stepsoning and garter to trellis allow plants to rationally use the radiant energy of the sun. We do not tie the fruits to the trellis, long and durable peduncles make it easy to hang them on the trellis.
During the growing season, plants often exhibit overturning - unremoved stepsons overtake the apical shoot in growth and grow 1-2 knots before the next inflorescence. Leaving them one at a time on the stem, an additional stem can be formed, prolonging the fruiting of the plant.
Further plant care is usual: loosening the soil in rows and row-spacings, removing weeds, regular watering, top dressing, destroying pests and pathogens. The first top dressing is carried out after the seedlings take root. Use infusion of mullein (1:10) or bird droppings (1:20). The second time we feed the plants during the formation of the fruits with these infusions or with the infusion of green fertilizer (1:20). After top dressing, we water the plants. The solution on the leaves is immediately washed off with water.
We do not use mineral fertilizers. If necessary, you can use mineral fertilizing (10 g of ammonium nitrate, 15 g of superphosphate and potassium sulfate per 10 l of water) during flowering and at the beginning of abundant fruiting.
Pest and disease protection
A complex of pests and diseases with extremely limited pepino cultivation has not yet formed. Only certain types of pests found a new feed plant, causing harm to it. Among them - the Colorado potato beetle, spider mite, aphids (melon, green peach), whitefly.
Pepino and diseases are also affected: the seedlings are “mowed” by the black leg, when the soil is waterlogged, root bacterial rot develops, in the second half of the growing season, if favorable conditions for the development of the causative agent of the disease develop, late blight can occur.
Plants are also sensitive to nightshade viruses. Isolated cases of infection with the leaf bronze virus are noted - the affected leaves with a bronze tint turn black and curl. The plant noticeably lags in growth and does not form normally developed fruits. To prevent the overgrowth of other plants by sucking pests (aphids, cicadas), such a bush should be removed.
There are no registered drugs for pest control during pepino cultivation in Ukraine. If necessary, you can use insecticides and fungicides recommended for protection against pests and diseases of tomato, eggplant, belonging to the same biological group with pepino (family nightshade). Experts note the increased sensitivity of pepino to some drugs and consumption rates acceptable for other vegetable nightshade crops. Therefore, it is advisable to first treat one plant stem with a drug with the recommended flow rate to ensure that there is no toxicity of the working solution.
Protecting pepino from pests is necessary not only in the summer in the open ground, but also in the premises of the uterine plants that winter. It is possible to limit the development of spider mites, whiteflies, aphids in plants during the winter period by treatment with insecticides in the preparation and transplantation of uterine plants for overwintering. Use the recommended drugs to destroy these pests on tomatoes and eggplant. If the preparations are compatible, the treatment can be carried out with a mixture of an insecticide (to kill aphids and whiteflies) and acaricide (to kill spider mites). But you need to do this before transferring the plants to the living room so that the unpleasant and harmful fumes of the preparations from the plants and the soil are eliminated.
In winter, if there is a need for treatment against pests, it is best to use decoctions or infusions of volatile plants (marigolds, tobacco, shag, yarrow, onion husks, garlic), which must be prepared in the summer. Spray plants with infusions and decoctions in 5-7 days.
If there are no phytoncid plants, but there is a need to get rid of pests, the treatment is carried out by an actellic, 500 EC, K. e. (2 ml per 1 liter of water) or confidor, c. R. K. (2-2.5 ml per 1 liter of water) in a separate room, observing all safety measures. After drying, the plants are brought into the living room.
Preparation of uterine plants
The fruits on the plants still ripen, and you should already take care of growing the uterine material for the next season. We begin to grow the mother liquors from the stepsons of plants in mid-August so that by the end of the growing season they have formed a well-developed root system.
For wintering plants can be prepared in different ways:
- Grow young plants from stepsons rooted in June – July. Shorten the main stems, leaving only a few lower stepsons. The root system in plants has already been formed; it is not depleted by fruiting. With proper care, plants safely tolerate the winter period.
- Grow plants from stepsons in the second half of August. Stepsons grown in September, with an early cooling in the fall, do not have time to form in a strengthened plant.
Stepchildren are best planted with mother plants, where they will be protected from sultry rays and provided with moisture.
- Grow plants from the stepsons of an rooted shoot. To do this, on the bush you need to leave one shoot of the lower tier, give it the opportunity to grow, then tilt and pin it to the soil. In contact with moist soil on the shoot, more than a dozen stepsons grow and they are already with the root system. It remains to cut the stem and plant the finished plants.
Before planting, cut 1 - 2 lower leaves and plant the plant in a container a little deeper than the removed leaves to form additional roots. On the aerial part of the stepson, leave 5-7 leaves, from the vaginas of which new shoots will grow, forming a compact plant.
Saving uterine plants
Plants prepared for wintering, in late September, with a drop in temperature at night to 14-15 ° C, we dig up with a lump of earth, without injuring the root system. We place in a container corresponding to the volume of the dug out coma. At the bottom of the container we pour expanded clay for drainage and a layer of prepared soil mixture. In the bottom of the container we make drainage holes for the drain of irrigation water.
We leave the transplanted plants for several days on the street so that they better take root. Growth processes in pepino are stopped at a temperature of 12-13 ° C. Therefore, plants are brought into the room on time. We place them on the windowsills of the windows of the southern orientation and look after ordinary indoor plants.
Plants exposed to the north side, in frosty periods, when the room temperature drops below 10-12 ° C (taking into account the proximity of leaves to the window frame) can drop leaves. When the temperature rises, after 2-3 weeks leaves grow on the shoots, stepsons grow out of their sinuses and by the beginning of April they can already be rooted for reproduction. Plants gratefully respond to backlighting, noticeably increase in growth, leaves acquire a more intense color. If desired, overwintered plants can continue to be grown indoors (balcony, loggia), transplanted into a large container.
When mother plants are harvested in more quantities than can be placed in residential premises, the plant itself helps to solve the storage problem, its biological feature is the tendency to a dormant period inherent in tree crops and shrubs.
Uterine plants can be stored in both light and dark rooms. The preparation for such storage of plants is as follows: watering and nutrition of plants are gradually minimized, the temperature is gradually reduced to 5-6 ° C over 3-4 weeks. The metabolic and growth processes slow down, the plant discards leaves.
Humidity to prevent the development of fungal diseases should be low, ventilation should be good, and watering at a level so that the roots do not dry out. Under such conditions, the rest period lasts up to 1.5-2 months (December — January).
With the advent of favorable light conditions, plants are transferred to a bright room, watered with warm water, fed and grown until mid-April, when the time comes for rooting of grown shoots and stepsons.