Effect Of Different Fertilizer Recipes On The Yield And Quality Of Watermelon "Zhaojia 8242" In The East Lianyungang Coastal Area

With the improvement of people's living standards,the demand of high-quality watermelons of consumers are increasing.However,the excessive use of chemical fertilizers always led to the deterioration of watermelon quality,the decline of yield,soil compaction and water pollution.In order to develop a suitable local fertilizer application strategy of the eastern coastal area of Lianyungang,the effects of different fertilizers on the vegetative growth,reproductive growth,quality and yield of Zaojia 8424,a popular variety in local region,were investigated under the facility cultivation condition.The fertilizer treatment carried out in this experiment included:nitrogen(N),phosphorus(P)and potassium(K)mixed fertilizer(CK),Hengaoda powdery organic fertilizer as base fertilizer(T1),chicken manure as base fertilizer(T2),NPK compound fertilizer(T3),chicken manure + NPK compound fertilizer(T4),Hengaoda powdery organic Fertilizer + NPK compound fertilizer(T5).The main results are as follows:The application of different fertilizers had little effect on the vegetative growth during early growth stage of watermelon.However,during the later growth stage,the differences among the different treatments gradually appeared.The watermelon plants treated with T2,T3,T4,and T5 showed good growth,and the stem diameter,internode length,main stem length,leaf width and leaf length of plants under T2,T3,T4,and T5 treatments were all greater than those of CK.At 63rd day after planting,the watermelon treated with T4 had better comprehensive performance of stem diameter,stem length,internode length,leaf width and leaf length,compared with other treatments.Improved fertilization was beneficial to promote the reproductive growth and quality of watermelon.Basically,the single fruit weight,the yield,and the content of soluble solids of watermelon were all increased.Among different treatments,the weight of the single fruit and the yield was T4>T5>T3>T2>T1>CK.Comparing with the CK,The content of soluble solids of watermelon fruits of the organic fertilizer of treatment T1 decreased by 8.7%and the treatment of T2,T3,T4 and T5 respectively increased by 15.8%,17.0%,20.4%,19.4%,i.e.,T4 treatment made the best performance in both yield and quality in watermelon production.In addition,fertilization treatments had no significant effect on female flower node position and fruit shape index of watermelon plants.In summary,T4 treatment(chicken manure + NPK compound fertilizer)revealed best effects on the vegetative growth,yield and quality of watermelon plants and should be recommended to the local farmers.