Production
Guide on Watermelon
Citrullus
lanatus (Thumberg) Matsum
and Nakai
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
|
Variety |
Shape |
Flesh color |
Rind
Color |
Types |
|
Sugar
Baby |
round |
red |
Dark
green |
OP |
|
Goody
Ball |
round |
red |
Dark
green |
F1
hybrid |
|
Charleston
gray |
oblong |
red |
Light
green |
OP |
|
Maharlika |
round |
red |
Dark
green |
F1
hybrids |
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.
|
Activity |
Quantity |
Unit |
Amount
/ Unit
(P) |
Total
Amount |
|
Land
preparation |
|
|
|
|
|
A.
Labor cost (200/MD) |
|
|
|
|
|
Plowing |
10 |
MD |
200 |
2,000.00 |
|
Harrowing
(2x |
8 |
MD |
200 |
1,600.00 |
|
Manure
application |
10 |
MD |
200 |
|
|
Planting |
8 |
MD |
200 |
1600.00 |
|
Mulching |
10 |
MD |
200 |
2000.00 |
|
Fertilizer
application |
|
|
|
|
|
Basal |
3 |
MD |
200 |
600.00 |
|
Side-dress |
10 |
MD |
200 |
2,000.00 |
|
Irrigation |
40 |
MD |
200 |
8,000.00 |
|
Trellising |
50 |
MD |
200 |
10,000.00 |
|
Pruning
and thinning |
|
|
|
|
|
Weeding |
40 |
MD |
200 |
8,000.00 |
|
Spraying |
35 |
MD |
200 |
7,000.00 |
|
Harvesting |
20 |
MD |
200 |
12,000.00 |
|
Miscellaneous |
20 |
MD |
200 |
4,000.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-total |
|
|
|
68,800.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B.
Materials |
|
|
|
|
|
Seeds |
4.0 |
Kilograms |
700 |
4,900.00 |
|
Animal
manure |
10 |
Tons |
1,200 |
12,000.00 |
|
Fertilizers |
|
|
|
|
|
14-14-14 |
7 |
Bags |
700 |
2,800.00 |
|
46-0-0 |
7 |
Bags |
800 |
5,600.00 |
|
0-0-60 |
3 |
Bags |
700 |
2,100.00 |
|
Plastic
mulch |
4 |
rolls |
2000 |
8,000.0 |
|
Pesticides |
|
|
5,000.00 |
5,000.00 |
|
Fuel
and oil |
|
|
6,000.00 |
6,000.00 |
|
Miscellaneous |
|
|
5,000.00 |
5,000.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-total |
|
|
|
56,400.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
II
Fixed cost |
|
|
|
|
|
Land
rentals |
|
|
|
7,500.00 |
|
Depreciation |
|
|
|
|
|
Scythe
2yrs |
5 |
Pcs |
12 |
63.00 |
|
Hoe
3yrs |
3 |
Pcs |
125 |
375.00 |
|
Knapsack
sprayer 5yrs |
|
Pcs |
|
|
|
Sub-total |
|
|
|
9,538.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
Cost |
|
|
|
134,738.00 |
Marketable yield of 10 to 15 tons hectare at P15 per kilograms
|
Gross Income at 15 tons/hectare |
225,000.00 |
|
|
Total Cost of Production |
134,738.00 |
|
|
Net Income |
90,262.00 |
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