WATER MELON (Citrullus lanatus)
Season: The ideal season is Dec-April.
Varieties: Sugar Baby, Arka Jyothi
Seed rate: 1 to 1.5 kg/ha
Spacing: 3.0 m x 2.0 m
Preparation of land
Pits of 60 cm diameter and 30-45 cm depth are taken. Well rotten FYM and fertilizers are mixed with topsoil in the pit and four or five seeds are sown in a pit. Remove unhealthy plants after two weeks and retain two or three plants per pit.
Manuring
Apply FYM @ 20-25 t/ha as basal dose along with half dose of N (35 kg) and full doses of P2O5 (25 kg) and K2O (25 kg/ha). The remaining dose of N (35 kg) can be applied in two equal splits at the time of vining and full blooming.
Aftercultivation
During the initial stages of growth, irrigate at an interval of three or four days. Irrigate on alternate days during flowering and fruiting. When fruits are mature, the frequency of irrigation may be reduced.
For trailing the water melon, spread dried twigs on the ground. Conduct weeding and raking of the soil at the time of fertilizer application.
Pests
The important pests are red pumpkin beetle and epilachna beetle. They can be controlled by adopting measures suggested for bitter gourd.
Diseases
Downy mildew and powdery mildew are important diseases affecting water melon. Control them by adopting measures recommended for bitter gourd.
Harvesting can be done only after 10 days (at least) of insecticide / fungicide application. Only well ripe fruits should be harvested.
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