Land selection - Soils with good nutrition (medium soil, loam to sandy loam). The soil must be having excellent drainage history. If possible use the land with previous crops other than Cucurbitaceae.

Land should be well prepared.  1-2 deep ploughing followed by 3-4 rounds of harrows to get fine tilt. 

Before the final harrow, apply 8 to 10 MT well-decomposed FYM/acre along with 1kg Trichoderma for controlling soil-born fungus.

• Total N:P:K requirement @ 80:100:120 kg per acre.

  Dose & Timing:

  Basal Dose: Apply 50% N and 100% P, K as basal dose during final land preparation.

  Top Dressing: 25% N at 30 days after sowing and 25% N at 50 days after sowing.

   

  Fertigation Management

  FYM	5000-10000 kg	After ploughing
  SSP	200 kg	Before bed making	30 kg Cal Nitrate
  MOP	50 kg	Before bed making	50 kg MgSo4
  Urea	75 kg	Pre-planting
  Through drip
  Crop stage	DAT	Fert name	Qua kg/ day/ A	No of Days
  Vegetative	00 to 10 DAT	No fertigation
  	11 to 15 DAT	19:19:19	4	5
  	16 to 25 DAT	12:61:00	5	10
  Flowering	26 to 35 DAT	Cal Nitrate	5	10
  Early fruiting	36 to 45 DAT	SOP	4	10
  Fruiting	46 to 55 DAT	Pot Nitrate	5	10
  	56 to 62 DAT	12:61:00+ SOP	3+2	7
  	63 to 73 DAT	19:19:19	5	12
  	63 to 73 DAT	SOP	2	12

   
• Weed Control- Chemicals with doses and timing

  For watermelon cultivation, hand weeding is suggested. There can be 2-3 weeding before the early fruit formation stage. After that, it is advised to restrict labor movement in the field so as to achieve less damage to crops and no disturbance to honeybee activities. In India

  • herbicides use is not yet in practice.

  • Diseases & Pest control- Chemicals with doses and timing

    For effective crop control apply fungicide as per recommendation from the Department of Agriculture (plant protection) to control Damping off, Downey Mildew, Powdery Mildew and other fungal diseases. Apply recommended insecticide to control sucking pest, fruit fly and any other insects.

    Insecticide spray should not be done at flowering stage (25 - 45Days) to enable honeybee activities for pollination.

     

    For watermelon crop leaf minor, thrips and the fruit fly are major insects. While Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Wilt, Anthracnose and Gumy Stem Blight are the major diseases. Timely control of insect and diseases will help to achieve excellent crop growth. Do not spray during peak pollination period.

    Crop Stage	DAT	Chemical	Dose/acre	Application
    Crop establishment	05 DAT	Isabion	600 ml	Drench
    Vegetative/Flowering/Fruiting	10 DAT	Kavach + Pegasus	240 gm + 240 gm	Foliar
    	40 DAT	Isabion	350 ml	Foliar
    	40 DAT	Pegasus	240 gm	Foliar
    Fruit Development	45 DAT	Kavach	240 gm	Foliar

    The schedule is as per label available for wm

    Other than this use VF for leaf minor @ 12-15 dat (also use it in nursery)

    Use good chemistry to control Thrips

  • Irrigation Schedule

    Irrigation management is very crucial in watermelon cultivation. Looking at the soil type and season, irrigation frequency and quantity can be decided. The drip irrigation system is strongly advised for this crop. After fruit setting irrigation interval needs to be fixed and maintained. Sudden change in irrigation frequency after fruit set can cause fruit busting and hollow heart. The moisture level needs to be maintained at an optimum level.

  • Harvest the fruit at the time of physiological maturity. Date of maturity or days after transplanting (65-70 days for seedless and 70-75 days for seeded)

     

    Maturity of watermelon can be judged by the following steps:

    1.A dead tendril attach to the vine

    2.Dull appearance of the fruit compared to their slick appearance

    3.Narrowing of the rind strips towards the head end.

    4.Maturity is also judged by metallic sounds

    5.After harvesting fruits should not be
    left long in the sun otherwise sun scaled may develop

     

    Note - Seedless watermelon harvesting should be done 2-3 times and Seeded can be done 1-2 time
    Expected Yield of the variety

    Average yield:  20-24 mt Seedless and 8 -10 mt Seeded /acre (depending on season and crop management practice)

    *Note- Yield data provided from trial averages with moderate input. It may vary from location to location with Genotype x Environment interaction.

    Harvesting