How to plant Zucchini Squash and when
Zucchini Squash is the most important crop in the cucurbit family of vegetables. It is a summer crop, although it can be produced yearly. Zucchini Squash is high in carbohydrates, amino acids, and a variety of minerals that are beneficial to humans.
Planting dates of Zucchini Squash:
Zucchini Squash can be grown all year round, and they can be planted at three general times:
1. Summer season: from February to mid-March.
2. The late summer months of July and August
3. Planting in the winter months is done in December and January. This ring is planted under the plastic, and care must be taken to resist the whitefly that spreads more in July and August, as well as no later than mid-September, when plants are infected with the silver zucchini leaf virus and turn silver, especially in late planting, which leads to a decrease in yield.
Seed Quantity of Zucchini Squash :
It varies with soil type, irrigation technique, history, and cultivation method.
1-2 kilos of seed or feddans are required per acre (4200 meters).
An acre requires 750 EGP when dripping irrigation or growing seedlings, especially new, expensive hybrids.
Preparing the land for farming
The soil was ploughed twice and treated with municipal fertilizer at a rate of 10-20 m3; 15% superphosphate fertilizer was added at 150 kg per feddan.
Trenches 30 cm deep and 25 cm wide are filled on sandy and light soils. The field is watered abundantly, then left until ploughed and seeds are sown at a distance of 50-70 cm.
If the appropriate mixture is prepared, they are prepared for the environment of the trays, placed in a warm place, or covered with transparent plastic, and then transplanted when the seedlings grow two true leaves. In addition to growing under plastic basements to avoid the whitefly, it produces abundant yields with a long season.
Grafting and slipping: Lost cavities are grafted with seedlings that have also been transplanted into soil cubes on the same day, 10-15 days after the original planting. Thinning is complete as soon as there is only one plant and 3-4 original leaves on the cold side. Cutting the plants with a sharp tool off the surface of the soil completes the loosening process.
Irrigation of Zucchini Squash:
Due to the shallow nature of their roots and soil moisture requirements, zucchini require varying amounts of watering depending on the soil type, weather and age of the plant.
Even after they ripen and bear fruit, yellow and heavy fields are watered every 7-10 days.
Regular watering is necessary for zucchini plants to avoid damaging the shape of the fruits.
The water is for only one hour daily in a greenhouse or plastic dome.
Avoid over-watering plants to prevent diseases such as powdery mildew and wilt and prevent thirsty plants from reducing the processes of knots, fruiting, and production.
Fertilization:
1. The first batch is 50 kg ammonia sulfate + 25 kg ammonia nitrate + 50 kg potassium sulfate, used to irrigate the eraser three weeks after planting.
2. The second batch containing 50kg of ammonia nitrate and 100kg of potassium sulfate will be produced about 15 days after the first batch.
3. The third batch, which contains 100 kg of ammonia nitrate and 150 kg of potassium sulfate, takes about 15 days after the second.
4. The fourth payment is scheduled for 15 days.
Harvest and ripening of Zucchini Squash:
In summer sowing, it is harvested 40-45 days after sowing, and in winter sowings, 50 days after sowing.
In winter planting, they are collected once every five days and twice a week.
The fruits should be collected regularly and only be left once they are larger than the acceptable market size.
It is advisable to collect green fruits only once, leaving the fruits to be harvested for seeds; After that, the fruits must be left to ripen, which takes 90 days, and are usually harvested when they are about 15 cm long.
Diseases and pests and ways to combat them:
The disease spreads at mild temperatures in spring and autumn.
Some species of aphids suck the plant's sap, causing spots, yellowing, wilting, and drying of the leaves. The appearance of the nevus on the leaves on which the black rot fungus grows, and thus the blackening of the leaves. Aphids are the viral vector of Auk mosaic disease.
* Whitefly:
Infection increases with increasing temperatures and humidity.
The pest feeds by sucking the plant sap, causing the leaves to be yellow and curl and weakening and stunting the plants. Seminary secretion is also present on the leaves.
Pumpkin leaf fly:
Infestation is severe in the Nile ring, where the larvae feed on the tissues between the leaf cuticle and make tunnels, damaging the affected leaves.
Ordinary red spider:
Infections spread with high temperatures and humidity.
The pest stages are located on the lower surface of the leaves and cause faint spots to appear on the leaves; The leaves wilt and dry with cobwebs when the infestation is severe.
Agricultural Control:
Good soil tillage, removal of weeds and affected plants, moderation in organic and nitrogen fertilizing, and attention to fertilizing with potassium.
Chemical control:
- Aphids:
Rotate the following pesticides every 7–9 days Bio-Liquid at 100 cm 3/100 L Malathion moisture 57% EC at 250 cm 3/100 L Water 50% DG Afox at 50 g / 100 L Marshall water 25% WP at 1580 g / 100 Litres of water.
2. Whitefly:
Rotate the pesticides listed below every 7-9 days. Biological liquid at a rate of 100 cm 3/100 litres of Ashok water, 15% EC at a rate of 187.5 cm 3/100 litres of water. Add Mospilan 20% SP at a rate of 25 g/100 litres of water.
3-Pumpkin leaf fly:
Preventive spraying once germination is complete, with the following pesticides alternately: 1.8% EC at 40 cm 3/100 L water Fabcomic 1.8% EC at 60 cm 3/100 L Visect 50% WP at 125 cm3/100 L water at 150 g/100 l of water, Bancool 50% WP is applied.
4. The common red spider
Rotate the following pesticides: bio-liquid at a rate of 100 cm3 3/100 litres of water 1.8% EC at a rate of 40 cm 3/100 litres of vapcomic water 1.8% EC at a rate of 60 cm 3/100 litres of water The most important of which is zucchini disease First: fungal diseases
- Wilt, root rot and death by cold:
It spreads in nurseries and at the beginning of planting and causes many fungi before and after planting seeds.
It is resisted by treating seeds with one of the fungicides such as Rezolex or Topsin (M.7) at a rate of 2-3 g/kg of seeds and seedlings with a solution of Rezolex Thiram (3 g + Topsin (M.7) ) 2 g + Redwell Plus 1.5 g/l water. It is placed in the environment used for seed germination with the sterilization of planting utensils and a sterile environment.
Powdery mildew on zucchini:
Symptoms appear on the leaves as a fine white powder that turns yellow, then falls off and dies. It is suitable for high temperatures and moderate relative humidity and can be prevented preventively by spraying with micronized sulfur at a rate of 250g/100L or fogging with sulfur at a rate of 10-15kg/acre. Water or Dorado 15 cm 3/100 litres of water or Sumi E 35 cm 3/100 litres of water or Topas 200 at a rate of 25 cm/100 litres. Moderation in watering-do not over-fertilize with nitrogen.
- Viral infections
It causes heavy losses, and its resistance is very difficult as it is responsible for transmitting many types of insects, such as aphids and whiteflies, the most important of which are squash mosaic viruses
