INTRODUCTION

Watermelon is mow widespread in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Mostly grown for fresh consumption of the juicy and sweet flesh of mature fruits. Locally known in the country as pakwan it is one of the most popularly grown fruit vegetable in the country today during summer

Its is planted 5000 hectare, the bulk of which is planted during the regular season (October to January) however there are few commercial off-season grower in Marinduque, Sorsogon and Pampanga.

VARIETIES

ADAPTATION

Climate – watermelon grows best when the monthly average temperature is about 21oC to 29oC. Planting is on the month of October to January. And for off- season is early August.

Soil – A well drained, fairly fertile and sandy loam soil is ideal for watermelon production, however with proper it can be successfully grown in clay soil.

CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

Land preparation – Field should be prepared thoroughly by plowing and harrowing and removing the different plant debris. It should also be pulverized and leveled, furrows are made 2 meters apart.

Sowing – Pre-germinate the seeds before sowing; soaking it in water for overnight period. Drill 2-3 seeds per hill at a distance of 1.5x 2,0 meter apart. Ten to fifteen days after emergence thin to one plant per hill, a hectare of land will need 3-4 kilograms of seeds.

Fertilization – soil analysis is recommended but in general for organic fertilizer a hectare should need about 10-15 tons. Side dress with 10-20 grams per hill of 14-14-14 two weeks until onset of female flower. At fruit setting apply 10 grams of urea (46-0-0) and muriate of potash (0-0-60) at 1:1 ratio 2-3 times every two weeks.

Irrigation – Field should be irrigate whenever necessary by either using furrow irrigation or by manual watering. Frequent high irrigation 10-15 times is recommended at planting time, vegetative, flowering and fruiting development stage. Do not allow the fruits to get wet while irrigating. Two weeks prior to maturity irrigation should be stop.

Weeding and Cultivation – Shallow cultivation by off baring, 15 days after planting followed by hilling up at 30 days after planting and hand weeding thereafter until the crop have attained sufficient size to cover the soil which in turn will suppress the growth of weeds.

Training of vines – Re arrange or train the vines along the rows 25 days after planting to facilitate watering and weeding but main vines should not be touch anymore

Fruit thinning – removal of misshapen fruits, thining of two fruits per vines of varieties which produced large size fruits and 4-6 in the case of small fruited varieties are suggested and done when the largest fruit is 10 cm long and 10 cm in diameter.

PEST AND DISEASE

Insect

Thrips, aphids, cucurbit beetle, melon fruit fly, spider mites, cutworm. Spray insecticide at manufacturer recommendation.

Disease

Downy mildew, powdery mildew, mosaic, anthracnose, use appropriate chemicals in controlling these diseases by following the manufacturer recommendation.

HARVESTING

Watermelon fruits do not ripen further after pickling, hence the fruits should be mature enough when harvested. It takes a watermelon to mature from 35 to 45 days after pollination.

Harvest indexes could be used:

-Tapping a dull or hallow sound is an indication to maturity

-Color – fruit part resting in the ground becomes a distinct yellow patch as in sugar baby

-Tendril right behind each fruit dried down up to the base.

Cost and Return Analysis Per Hectare.

Marketable yield of 10 to 15 tons hectare at P15 per kilograms

REFERENCES:

Water Melon Production Guide, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forest and Natural Resources. Department of Science and Technology. Information Bulletin No.156/2000

Estimated Cost and Return of Production of Fresh Vegetable for 2001. Bureau of Plant Industry. Crop Production Division.

Paje M.M and Vossen van der H.A.M. PROSEA Vegetables. Plant Resources of South-East Asia. Siemonsma J.S. and Kasem Piluek (Editors   Bogor Indonesia.1994.pp 144-148