Watermelon
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Watermelon
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| Land Requirements | No Specific requirements. Land should be free from volunteer plants. |
| Isolation Requirements |
Most of thecucurbits are monoecious in character and a few are dioecious. A number of hermaphrodite and andromonoecious cultivars are also available in some crops. Pollination is largely done by insects. For pure seed production to separate it from fields of other varieties, fields of the same vareity not conforming to vareital purity requirements for certification.
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| Time of Sowing | February to March |
| Preparation of Land | For transplanting prepare the field to a fine tilth by ploughing and 3to 4 harrowings followed by leveling. |
| Source of Seed | Obtain breeder's/foundation seeds from source approved by a seed certification agency. |
| Seed Rate | Two and half to five kilogramme per hectare. |
| Sowing of Seeds | Seeds are sown on both sides of the channels. The channels are irrigated and theseeds are sown on the ridges at a place above water level, so that water is received by capillary movement. Two to three seeds may be sown on each hill, and subsequently thinned out. |
| Fertilisation | Apply 30 tonnes of well-rotted farmyard manure at the time of land preparation; and 150 kg of Superphosphate, 100 kg potassium sulphate and125 kg of amonium sulphate or C.A.N. may be prepared and mixed at 500 gm per pit while preparing the pits for sowing. Top-dress 150 kg ammonium sulphate or C.A.N.at the time of flowering. |
| Transplanting |
| Spacing | Two metres between channels and one metre between plants. |
| Irrigation | Irrigate the furrows lightly soon after sowing, once in ten days during spring and every week during the hot months. |
| Interculture | Hhoeings and weedings around the bases of the plants should be thoroughly attended to. |
| Insect and Disease Control | Adopt recommended IPM methods |
| Roguing | Remove the offtypes. |
| Harvesting and Extration of Seeds |
Fruits are ready for harvest when they reach edible maturity. However, there is no harm in delaying the harvesting for a few days, or even a week, or longer, unless it is desired to examine flesh quality and flavour. The fruit picking should be done only by men familiar with plant and fruit types, so that any previously unrecognised rogue may be removed. The fruits are placed in piles after picking. The fruits are cut open individually by hand, seed scraped out and washed over a screen with clean water. Seed must bedried quickly after washing,and stored in a cool dry place. |
| Seed Yield | The average seed yield is about 200 to 250 kg per hectare. |