How to Grow Watermelon and Muskmelon from Seed to Harvest
Watermelon and Muskmelon are particularly tropical crops that resemble vining vegetable crops. Although these crops are native to Africa, they are cultivated in all other tropical countries. These crops cannot tolerate low temperature. Ripe fruits contain not only vitamin ‘A’ and ‘C’ but also high percentage of iron. These fruits have more thirst quenching properties.
Weather:
A dry climate with low humidity is most suitable for these crops. If the temperature is low at the time of seed germination, the germination percentage will be reduced. If the temperature is high during the ripening of the fruits, the fruits become very sweet. Especially if it is cloudy and raining during the growing of the berry, the growth of the crop will not be good and the quality of the berry will also be poor.
Soils:
These crops can be grown in all types of soils. These crops can be grown in sandy soils to light clay soils. Alluvial sandy soils with good drainage are suitable for bringing the crop to market quickly. Growth is not good in soils with high alkaline or acidic properties. Soils with soil PH level 6.0 to 6.7 are suitable for cultivation.
Varieties of Watermelon:
100 grams of seeds Contains approximately 700 to 900 seeds
Watermelon Seed Germination time is 6 to 10 Days
Ashapayamata: This is a midterm variety imported from Japan. Each fruit weights 6-8 kg, is medium in size, light green on top, and has thick pink color inside and sugar ranges from 11-13 percent. Fruits ripen in 95 days. The yield is up to 9 tons per acre.
Sugar Baby: This is an imported variety from America. Perfect for planting early in the season. The fruits are small, weighting about 2-3 kg, round, bluish-black on top, with thick pink color inside. Sugar ranges from 11 to 13 percent. Fruits ripen in 80-85 days. Yields 6 tons per acre.
Arkajyoti: This is a midterm variety. Released by Indian Horticultural Research Institute, Bangalore. Fruits are round, weighting 6-8 kg, light green with stripes and pink color.
Arkamanik: This is also a variety released by the Indian Horticultural Research Institute, Bangalore. The fruits are round and green above with dark green stripes and red color inside. The fruit is sweet and weights about 6 kg. The percentage of seeds is low. Resistant to gray rot, leaf spot and bird’s eye. The yield is 24 tons per acre.
Durgapur Meetha and Durgapur Kesar: These are issued by Agricultural Research Station, Durgapur, Rajasthan. This variety harvest late and lasts longer after harvesting.
Varieties of Muskmelon:
100 grams of seeds Contains approximately 800 to 1000 seeds
Muskmelon Seed Germination time is 3 to 5 Days
White muskmelon varieties:
Arkajeet, Arkarajahans and Lucknow Safeda: These Fruits weight 300 to 400 grams. There is a large seed fruit in the middle and have 4-5 fruits per vine. Suitable for cultivation in pots and sand dunes. These can be sown in the months of November-December. Yields 6-6.4 tons per acre.
Orange muskmelon varieties:
Pusa Sharbati, Pusa Madhuras and Punjab Sanehari: The fruit has thin net like lines and weigths 600-800 grams. Pusa Sharbati, Panjam Sunehari are Perfect for long distance transportation. Yields 6 to 6.4 tons per acre.
Green muskmelon varieties:
Haramadhu: The fruits are round or flat, green in color and sweet. The fruits weigth about 1 kg. Its a late harvest variety.
Durgapura Madhu: The fruits are round, weigthing about 500-600 grams and have light green firm sweet. The seed coat between the fruits is large. It is quick to harvest.
Planting Time:
If sown in January-February, it will ripen in April-May. It can also be sown in the months of June-July and cultivated under rain dependent conditions.
Soil Preparation:
The field should be well plowed 3-4 times and up to 20 tons of well-ripened cattle manure should be applied per acre. 60 cm wide canal should be made, but 2-3 meters between these canal should be ensured. Seeds should be sown in 50 cm soil on one side of the canal. In this method 1.25 to 1.5 kg of seed per acre is sufficient.
Seed Per Acre:
Seed Rate: 1.25-1.5 kg if seed per acre is sufficient
Harvesting: 80-100 days
Yield: Watermelon yields 20-25 tons per acre, Muskmelon yields 10-12 tons per acre
Harvesting:
How to Know if Watermelon is ripe and ready to harvest
- When the watermelon is ripe, the stem at the beginning of the fruit is dried.
- The part of the fruit that touches the ground turns yellow.
- When the fruit is tapped with the hand, it makes a wobbly sound,
While transport for the long-distance market, harvest the fruit that touches the ground turns yellow.
How to Know if Muskmelon is ripe and ready to harvest
- When the muskmelon fruit is ripe, thin stripes form around the stem.
- At the fully ripe stage the fruit separates from the entire sheath.
- Apart from this, the skin of the fruit turns yellow and has a pungent smell.
Yields:
Watermelon yields 20-25 tons per acre
Muskmelon yields 10-12 tons per acre
