| Land preparation | Sowing | Intercultural operations | After care of transplanted seedling |
• Bring the soil to a fine tilth after 2-3 ploughings and harrowings. Broadcast 20-25 tonnes of farm yard manure/ha after the first ploughing.
• Open up 2.0-3.5 m long and 30 cm wide sowing channels across the slope. Prepare 30 cm wide and 15 cm high ridges (bunds) on either side of the sowing channel.
• Suitable spacing between two sowing channels, 300 cm and between the hills, 90 cm. Prepare the irrigation channels along the slope to irrigate the sowing channels (irrigate 2 days before sowing).
• Make shallow furrows in the sowing channels at the bottom of the ridges with pick axe. Apply the fertilizer mixture (75kg N, 100 kg P2O5 and 35-70 K2O/ha) in the shallow furrows made in the sowing channels and cover it with soil.
• Prepare sowing hills on the inner-side of the ridges of the sowing channel, 8-10 cm above the place where fertilizer as been applied.
• Sow 4-5 seeds per hill and cover them with soil and give a light irrigation.
• Seed rate per hectare 2.0 kg.
•(October- November) is suitable for both seed and commercial production instead of regular February sowing.
• Use of pro-tray/ peg trays (98 cells) to get quality watermelon seedling instead of traditionally followed direct seed sowing.
• Drench the seedlings with captan 3g/litre to control damping off and seedling wilt in the pro-trays
• Irrigate once in 4-5 days depending upon the soil and weather conditions.
• Do the weeding and hoeing during the first 45 days of plant growth.
• Thinning of plants should be done 25-30 days after sowing, retaining 2 good seedlings in each hill.
• Top-dress the crop with nitrogen (25 kg/ha), 30-35 days after sowing.
• When the plants start vining (35-40 days after sowing), vine guiding should be done.
This helps intercultural operations and minimizes disease incidence and fruit rot.
4-5 Days after transplanting, Captan 3g/lit or Bavistin 2 g /lit. must be drenched to protect from the wilt.
After 15 days of transplanting to the main field, during summer season cotyledanary leaves to be removed to protect serpentine leaf minor and further spread, this was followed by spraying of Hostothian 2ml /lit.
After 25 days of transplanting before flowering spray multi-K ( 15 all NPK) 5 g/l of water with sandovit to improve the vegetative growth.
After 45 days of transplanting spray vegetable special ( micronutrient ) 4 g/lit.of water to enhance more number of female flower.
After 60 days of transplanting spray boron (boric acid) 2 g/lit.of water to increase fruit size and protect fruit cracking
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