Grower’s Guide

Watermelon – Growers’ Guide

Watermelon

Season
Can be planted in all tropical season, sun light full day, temperature 20-35 C for growth, temperature 18-25 C for breeding.

Soil
Loam, Clay loam, good irrigation loam, pH 5-5.6. To plough the soil with dry sun 7-10 days. To plough the soil deep 15-20 cm. [ V shape]. Additional manure rate 1-1.5 ton / rai + Chemical fertilizer 15-15-15 rate 50 Kg./rai + Furadan 3 G 2-3 Kg/rai + caborac 1-2 Kg/rai soil to cover up plot wide 80 cm. high 30 cm. 2 row/ plot [ plot wide total 5-6 m.]. Use plastic or straw to cover up step end.

Agriculture
Transplanting sprout 12-15 days or real leaf 2-3, open water in to plot, perforate on plastic space 70- 80 cm. Cultivate Seeds seed soak in clean water 4-6 hour, cover with cotton keep temperature 28-30 C long 24-32 hour untill the seed have root 0.5 cm. and planted in plastic bag Plastic bag for seedling size 4×4″ pierce hole that under irrigation soil loam 3 / manure 1/ fertilizer 0-46-0 50 gm. Mix in to bag Select branch and fruit water melon after plated 25-30 days. first flower cut will select second fruit and next fruit because good quality Fertilizer 1. With plough Fertilizer 15-15-15 rate 50 Kg./rai 2. After transplant 5- 7 days Fertilizer 21-0-0 rate 2-3 gm./plant 3.After transplant 20-25 days Fertilizer 15-15-15 rate 20- 25 Kg./rai after fruit same egg 4.
Before harvesting 2-3 weeks Fertilizer 13-13-21 rate 20-25 Kg. / Rai.

Disease
Anthracnose Downy Mildew spray Mancozap+Matacllic coper Wilt use variety resistance change area Virus pull plant burn
Insect: Thirps spray Cabofuran, Beetles spray Dicrotophos or Cabaril. Aprid spray Monocrotophos

Maturity
60-80 days. Characteristics of watermelon that can be harvested. Fruit maturity have dark color but young fruit have light color. Skin that touch gourd will change yellow.

DID YOU KNOW? Watermelon – (Citrullus lanatus, formerly C. vulgaris), succulent fruit of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native to tropical Africa, but under cultivation on every continent except Antarctica. Its vines grow prostrate, with branched tendrils, deeply cut leaves, and flowers borne singly in the axil of a leaf. Each light yellow flower produces either pollen or fruit. The sweet, juicy flesh may be reddish, white, or yellow. Flesh colour, shape of the fruit, and thickness of the rind depend on the variety. Weight varies from 1 to 2 kg (2.5 to 5 pounds) to 20 kg or more. The number of fruits per vine varies from 2 or 3 to 15.

The history of watermelons is a long one; there is a Sanskrit word for watermelon, and fruits are depicted by early Egyptian artists, indicating an antiquity in agriculture of more than 4,000 years.

Watermelon contains vitamin A and some vitamin C. It is usually eaten raw. The rind is sometimes preserved as a pickle.