AREA
Choose an area that does not have a history of diseases or insects that attack watermelons. An area where water is easily available for watering watermelons, also an area without salty soil that soaks up water. Read here to know the types of soil. How to identify soil salty and how to remove salt , Ways to measure and identify the type of soil in your farm , watermelon thrives in loamy and sandy soil but clay soil is not very good for watermelon because it causes the fruit to have cracks (cracks)
PREPARING THE FIELD.
Plow your field well by breaking up the soil and also prepare ridges with a width of 2 meters and a height of 30 centimeters to help the melon roots grow well and prevent water from stagnating especially during the rainy season. example of a picture for the preparation of the field
Welcome me to your farm and I will give you expertise on how to prepare the farm for this cultivation and other crops
Welcome me to your farm and I will give you expertise on how to prepare the farm for this cultivation and other crops
FULFILLMENT REQUIREMENTS
Melon grows well in soil that holds water well but is not stagnant and allows good circulation of air and water. Soil with a pH of 5.8-6.6. Also if the pH is low we will advise you what to do so that it can be good and moderate for the melon. Watermelon does not grow well in the cold and needs a soil temperature of 18-29 0c. Temperature below 18 0c and above 29 0c will affect the germination of seeds and the growth of the plant. During the harvest period, melons need the soil to be moist at all times, but if there is too much water in the soil at any time of harvest and fruit setting, it will lead to the cracking of the fruit and reduce the yield and fruit quality.
PLANTING
Watermelon seeds/seedlings will be planted 1-2 meters between plants and placed 2.5 centimeters deep (planting hole), and between the lines should be 2 meters, at this distance plant 2 seeds in each hole. Or set the distance of 50 centimeters by 2 meters but here plant the seeds one by one. in one hectare you will need 500gms-600gms of seeds
Melon seed will emerge after 5-7 days.
PLANT CARE.
a) Fertilizer.
Fertilizer in the amount of 4-6 tons per acre, mix it with the soil a week before planting, you can also put this fertilizer in each hole several days before planting and then water it to reduce the large amount that will be needed to put in one acre. If you don't have manure, use Yaramila winner or DAP, put 5 grams for each hole, make sure the fertilizer and seeds do not touch each other.
Two weeks after your seedlings emerge, apply industrial fertilizer - NPK (Yaramila winner) 5 grams again for each hole, make sure you dig it down so that it does not touch the plant.
Apply fertilizer with Calcium or Yaramila nitrobo 10 grams for each stem when you see the fruits have started to help get big and beautiful fruits.
IRRIGATION
Water for 1-5 centimeters in the soil is required by rain or irrigation to get a good melon, the most important period for water requirements for melons is: before the seedling emerges, the beginning of flowering and the last 10 days before harvesting. A little water the planting period causes the seeds not to germinate, the flowering period causes few fruits to appear and the fruits to lose their shape. 10 days before harvesting causes the fruits to be small if not enough water is available. of sugar to be made and fruit bursting, also remember to set up a water supply system in the field i.e. a drainage system (I will show you more when I arrive at your field) this will help to remove salt and ensure that the crops grow well
Note:
Do not water too much, this will cause the growth of diseases due to leaving the leaves of the plant moist. Also check the good time for pollination / the time when the bees are present in your field, so try to water for a period that will not disturb the bees.
Coverage.
It is important to use mulch in your farm to help maintain moisture in the soil and when this mulch rots later, it adds fertility to the soil and also helps prevent the growth of weeds and helps the fruit not come into contact with the soil, something that can cause the fruit to be affected by the temperature of the soil or diseases easily. mulch when your seedling reaches a height of 10 centimeters.
Reduce the height of the plant
In order to get good and healthy fruits, it is good to reduce the plant in front, when you see that the plant has reached enough height to help make side branches that often carry female flowers.
Remove weeds
It is very important to get rid of weeds in your field especially in the first weeks to prevent the competition between weeds and the plant which leads to a decrease in yield and sometimes these weeds may be the source of some diseases in your plant
Pollination
To get a large amount of fruit, it is good to have a beehive near your farm to help pollination of melon flowers. We suggest you have 1-2 hives per hectare. You can also plant sunflowers near your farm to attract bees. Also prevent spraying insecticides during the flowering period because you can chase away or kill bees, remember that flowers that are not pollinated well produce fruits with a bad shape that is not similar to the others.
Reduce the number of fruits
Usually melons put more than four fruits, in order to get big and healthy fruits, it is better to reduce the fruits by removing some fruits that look unhealthy and have lost their good shape and make sure that each seedling is left with only 2-3 fruits.
Harvesting
Watermelons are harvested after two and a half to three months from the day of planting, but there are some that mature in 60-75 days depending on the type of seed.
They are sick
1) Downy mildew
This disease is caused by a fungus (Pseudoperonosporacubensis). It is one of the diseases that attack leaves and it is very preferred during winter,
Its symptoms:
Infested leaves turn yellow and some leaves seem to dry up with black spots in the distance.
His cure.
Look for a medicine with the ingredients...Metalaxyl and mancozeb....such as Ridomil gold.
2) Powdery mildew
The symptoms of this disease... you will see the leaves become as if they have been sprinkled with flour and ashes
His cure
Look for a medicine with the ingredient...Difenoconazole..like Score.
3) Kiuno said.(Damping off)
This disease disturbs young seedlings a lot, it starts in the soil, it causes the young seedlings to fall down after eating part of the stem.
His cure.
Look for Ridomil gold and start spraying as soon as your plants germinate.
Insects
1) Fat insects (Aphid)
These attack the leaves and absorb the plant juice and after attacking the leaves they curl and later lead to viral diseases.
Dawa yao.
Look for Actara and spray the leaves with the soil.
Other insects are; Whitefly (whitefly) - Actara will kill them.
, Red spidermites (Redspidermites)-Dynamec will finish them, Thrips-Actara and Dynamec will finish them completely.
Best melon seeds.
There are hybrid seeds and opv (not hybrid)
But the best seeds are hybrids and some of those seeds are...
1) Sugar F1-From East Africa seeds.
2) Sugar king F1-from Africa
3) Juliana F1-from Kiboseed
4) zebra F1-From Balton.
which are available in our store at a cheap price and are the best seeds
MARKET PRICE
I would like to advise our farmers that the best way to grow melons is through irrigation, if you are a melon farmer you must be smart to plant your crop so that you can harvest when the market is good, the best cycle for planting melons is this, plant your crop in the middle of the rainy season when Watermelon farmers depending on the rain (which are many) their crops have flowered so that when they harvest their melons, your crops should be the ones that start to flower so when you harvest the rainfed farmers will have finished their market. Also for those who depend on the rain it is good to check your market well so that you are sure to sell your fruit when it is already ripe.
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