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Watermelon(Citrullus lanatus (Thumb) Matsum and Nakai.); Cucurbitaceae

Sugar Baby and Arka Manik.
Arka Jyoti, Sonna and Suvarnima.

Sandy loam rich in organic matter with good drainage and pH range of 6.5-7.5

Treat the seeds with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g or Pseudomonas fluorescens 10 g or Carbendazim 2g/kg of seed. Sow the seeds during November-December @ 3.5 kg/ha on one side of the channel with a spacing of 0.9 m between hills. Thin the seedlings 2 per hill 15 days after sowing.
Plough the field to a fine tilth and form long channels 2.5 m apart.
Irrigate the field before dibbling the seeds and thereafter once a week.
Apply FYM 20 t/ha, P 55 kg and K 55 kg as basal and N 55 kg/ha 30 days after sowing. Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria @ 2 kg/ha and Pseudomonoas @ 2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg/ha and neem cake 100 kg/ha before last ploughing.
Nursery for watermelon can be prepared either with polythene bags of 200 gauge, 10 cm diameter and 15 cm height size or through protrays under protected nursery. In polybag nursery, fill the bags with 1:1:1 ratio of red soil, sand and farmyard manure mixture. Use protrays, each having 98 cells for raising seedlings. Transplant about 12 days old seedlings in the main field
Install drip system with main and sub-main pipes and place the inline lateral tubes at an interval of 1.5 m. Place the drippers in lateral tubes at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm spacing with 4 LPH and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively.
Raise beds of 1.2 m width and 30cm height for sowing
Spread the lateral tubes in the centre of each bed. Irrigate the beds by operating the drip system continuously for 8-12 hrs. Spray pre-emergence herbicide (Pendimethalin @ 1 kg a.i/ha) just before planting. Plant the seedlings in the holes made at 60 cm distance.
Apply a dose of 200:100:100 kg NPK/ha throughout the cropping period through split application

Recommended Dose: 200:100:100 Kg/ha
Crop Stage
Duratio
n in
Days
Fertilizer
Grade
Total
Fertilizer
(Kg/ha)
Nutrient Supplied % Requirement
N P K N P K
Crop
establishme
nt
10 19:19:19 +
MN
13-0-45
Urea
26.81
11.00
29.03
5.00
1.43
13.35
5.00
–
–
5.00
4.95
–
10.0
0
5.0
0
10.0
0
Subtotal 19.78 5.00 9.95
Vegetative 30 12-61-0
13-0-45
Urea
12.28
66.00
109.00
1.47
8.58
50.14
7.49
–
–
–
29.7
0
30.0
0
7.5
0
30.0
0
Subtotal 60.19 7.49 29.7
Flower
initiation to
first picking
30 12-61-0
13-0-45
Urea
12.28
44.00
115.00
1.47
5.72
52.90
7.49
–
–
–
19.8
0
30.0
0
7.5
0
20.0
0
Subtotal 60.09 7.49 19.8
Harvesting 45 19:19:19 +
MN
13-0-45
Urea
26.31
78.00
97.52
5.00
10.14
44.86
5.00
–
–
5.00
35.1
0
–
30.0
0
5.0
0
40.0
0
Total
duration
115
days
Subtotal 60.00 5.00 40.1
Total 200.06 24.9
(or)
25.0
99.3
(or)
100.
100 25 100
*75% RD of Phosphorus applied as superphosphate = 469kg/ha.
1. 19:19:19 = 53 kg/ha
2. 13:0:45 = 199kg/ha
3. 12:61:0 = 25 kg/ha
4. Urea = 351kg/ha

Spray ethrel 250 ppm (2.5 ml/10 l of water) 4 times at weekly intervals commencing from 15 days after sowing. Hoe and weed thrice.

Fruit fly
1. Collect the affected fruits and destroy.
2. The fly population is low in hot day conditions and it is peak in rainy season. Hence
adjust the sowing time accordingly.
3. Expose the pupae by ploughing.
4. Install cucurbit fruit fly trap @ 4/ acre
5. Neem oil @ 3.0 %
Do not use copper and sulphur dust, as these are phytotoxic


Aphids & Jassids
 Foliar spray of imidacloprid 70% WG @ 35 ml//ha

 Varieties : 25 – 30 t/ha in 120 days.
 Hybrids : 80-90 t/ha

Crop Growing districts                                                  Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Thiruvallur
Major markets in Tamil Nadu                                     Coimbatore, Chennai Preferred Varieties and hybrids Mithila, Suganthi, Kiran, Simran,                                                                                                      Vishal
Grade Specification                                                      Symmetrical and uniform in appearance.
                                                                                          The surface should be waxy and bright in appearance devoid of scars, sunburn, transit                                                                                                    abrasions or other surface defects.

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