Effects of Sowing Date on Nutrient Absorption and Utilization, Yield and Quality of Muskmelon

The medium-ripening melon variety ‘Huangpi 9818’ was used as the material, and the conventional cultivation management method was adopted in the field.Three sowing dates(April 6^th,April 13^th and April 21^st) were set to study the effects of different sowing dates on nutrient uptake and utilization as well as yield and quality of melon, in order to provide a reference for determining the suitable sowing period for medium-ripening type melons in open field cultivation in Turpan area.The results showed that the total dry matter accumulation in all organs of melon under the April 13^th treatment was 17.04% and 50.25% higher than that on April 6^th and April 21^st,respectively, during the four reproductive periods, comprehensive analysis of dry matter accumulation, nutrient uptake distribution, final crop yield and fruit quality of melon in the four reproductive stages under each sowing period, the suitable sowing period for medium-ripening melon variety ‘Huangpi 9818’ was from April 13^th to April 20^th.