A Must To Know In Watermelon Cultivation

 Much Needed Watermelon Cultivation Facts!

The long summer hours are too complicated. We feel so tired, walking a short distance. And all our mouth

areas are so dried often , our body becomes weak and lazy to continue our daily works. We become thirsty whole time. And just remember, in such dehydrated condition , isn't watermelon a best choice that one can ever have? Of course, it is. Watermelons  are best combinations for such long hours. They are colorful ; indeed a green color with black dotted spots outside and a red flesh inside with black-brown dots. As per report, watermelons is 92 percent water.

Lets know about this fruit more and all about its growing requirements. Botanical name of  watermelon is "Citrullus lanatus". It belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. Its bloom type is in summer and it needs full sun exposure for its growth. One must know that watermelons are warm season crop and needs more sun and dry weather. It can be grown in altitudes upto 1500m above sea level. The type of soil needed for its farming is sandy and well-drained soil. The best soil for its cultivation is sandy loam soil in clear way. Morever, soil must have good amount of organic matter and must not withhold water. The most needed soil pH is about 6-7.5 (slightly acidic to neutral). Watermelons are the crops that are very sensitive towards frost, thus  we maybe protective in this during its cultivation. Talking about rainfall, watermelon has a high water requirement ; about 400-600 mm of rainfall which should be spread properly during the growing period. Watermelon makes the best growth performance in warm temperatures. The optimum temperature for watermelon cultivation is 22-28 degree celsius. There are many common varieties of watermelon and some of them are: Sugar baby , Sukari F1, Crimson Sweet, Sweet Rose and Charleston Gray. 

Land preparation and sowing seeds for this fruit is common like most of the other crops. The

land is ploughed till the soil becomes very fine and is then prepared according to the type of sowing done. The different methods of sowing include pit sowing, furrow sowing and hill sowing. Then, they are generally seeded directly in the farms.  Since, it has to be protected from seeds and for this land is not suitable then one can grow the seeds  in nurseries and later transplant in the main field. 

Pollination is  very important factor to be done in this fruit and truly a very  important step in watermelon cultivation. In case of other crops, the flowers develops into fruits on their own but  in watermelon , this does not happen. In this crop, male and female grows separately on the same plant Small fruit at the base region is present in female flowers . If such flowers wrinkle and get contract, pollination is affected(does not occur).Thus , this is very sensitive case. So, setting up an artificial beehive can be a great logical idea for the proper continuous growth without distractions. Keeping one hive per acre of the field is sufficient.

Weeding is a needed step to be carried out. The first weeding is done about 25 days after sowing. In this fruit, weeding is done in the initial stages of growth and once the vines begin to spread, weeding is not necessary as the vines take care of the weeds.

There are many pests found in watermelon and such pests are: melon fly, aphids, spider mites, white flies, Epilancha beetles and Root-knot nematode. 

Similarly, there are many diseases that are found in watermelon and such diseases are: Powdery Mildew, Anthracnose, Downy Mildew, Fusarium wilt, watermelon mosaic virus, Gummy stem blight (rot).

Watermelons are the crops that cannot get ripen and sugar content even does not increase after they are picked. So, one must give more focus on its harvesting time. Watermelons can be stored uncut for about ten days. If cut, they can last in the refrigerator for about four days and they must be tightly wrapped in a plastic.

Thus , these are some useful facts to be gained during its cultivation. Lets follow this and make a easy commercial farming.