Watermelon is a round fruit with a
hard rind.There are two types of
watermelon seeds. These are open
pollinated and hybrid melons. Seeds
for open pollinated varieties are
produced from self fertilization of
flowers of one variety. Hybrids are a
result of cross pollination and they
have better yields. Buy the seeds
from a trusted and certified source.
Space – Water melon requires lots of
space
Water- Water melon requires a lot of
water and lots of nutrients. Have a
stable source of water and soil rich
in nutrients. You add nutrients to
the soil by adding organic matter.
Enough sun- Water melon requires
lots of sun. They do not cope well
with extremely hot conditions
though. Humid and soggy conditions
are the best conditions for fungal
diseases and these will wipe out the
melon in no time. Temperatures of
between 20 degrees-25 degrees are
best to grow and ripen a
watermelon.
Planting of watermelon.
Start the water melon seeds in the
ground, right where they are
supposed to grow. They do not like
transplanting and so not necessary
to put the seeds in a nursery bed.
Put enough manure to the soil
before planting and plough to mix
well with the soil. 1 table spoon of
DAP should be put in every hole and
properly mixed with the soil to make
sure that the fertilizer doesn’t burn
the seed. DAP contains phosphorus
and helps the crop with root
development. Always fertilize the
soils after every three to four weeks
with CAN which helps to fix nitrogen
in the soil. Watermelon fruit grow
well in soils with alkaline pH. It is
therefore wise to add lime to the soil
to maintain an alkaline pH. This
tough should be done at intervals of
3years. Watermelon germinates in 7
days and the first fruits are seen
from day 30.
Spacing
Plant the watermelon seed with a
spacing of 2m between rows and 1m
between the holes where the seeds
are to be planted. If there is not
enough rainfall, water regularly to
keep the soil moist. It is best to have
a watering schedule if using
irrigation because the fruit becomes
stressed when the pattern changes
and this affects the fruit
development and the spray program.
Weeding.
It is important to weed the land to
remove weeds that compete for
water and nutrients with the plant. It
can be done the 2ndor 3rd week
after germination using herbicides or
steel (jembe).
Maturity- Watermelon matures
between 60-100 days. In order to
determine if the fruit is ready for
harvest, turn the melon to see if it
has a yellow patch on the part where
it lies on the ground with. If it is
difficult to pass though your finger
nail into the melon, it is as well
ready for harvest and you can even
cut one and confirm if mature. They
are ready for harvest when mature.
Control of pests and diseases.
The major diseases of watermelon
are the leaf spot, dumping off,
powdery mildew and blight. Beetles,
mites, leaf miners and thrips.
Dumping off is a fungal disease that
causes seeds to rot before they
germinate. Spider mites are serious
pests of watermelons especially
during hot, dry weather and they
feed on the plants sap and can
defoliate vines in a few weeks.Leaf
miners cause injuries to the leaves
resulting to destruction of the leaf
tissues. Thrips are insects which
invade the flowers and feed on plant
juices are visible to the naked eye.
Always use recommended
fungicides, insecticides and
herbicides and these are available in
the local agrovets. Read the label
and follow instructions. This will not
only protect your plant, but it will
also protect your health and the
environment. Apply the chemicals
using the appropriate equipment at
the recommended application rate.
The labels should provide
information on recommended use,
ingredients, mode of action, and
formulation of the product.
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