(Watermelon Crop – Cultivation Guidelines)

🌦 Climate
• Warm and dry climate is ideal
• Optimum temperature: 24°C–30°C
• High humidity and rainfall are harmful

🌱 Soil
• Sandy loam soil preferred
• Good drainage essential
• Soil pH: 6.0–7.5

🚜 Field Preparation
• Deep ploughing followed by 2 harrowings
• Level the field and keep the soil fine

🌾 Sowing Time
• Summer crop: January – March
• Kharif crop: June – July
• Rabi crop (South India): November – December

📏 Spacing
• Row to row: 2.0–2.5 m
• Plant to plant: 0.6–0.9 m

💧 Irrigation
• First irrigation immediately after sowing
• Subsequent irrigations every 6–7 days
• Maintain uniform moisture during fruit setting
• Reduce irrigation at maturity

🧪 Fertilizers
• FYM/Compost: 20–25 tons/ha
• NPK: 100:50:50 kg/ha
• Split nitrogen into two doses: at sowing and 30 days after

🌿 Weed Management
• Apply Pendimethalin 1 kg/ha after sowing
• Hand weeding when required

🦠 Major Diseases
• Powdery mildew → Spray Hexaconazole 5% EC or Sulphur 80% WDG
• Downy mildew → Spray Metalaxyl + Mancozeb 0.2%
• Anthracnose → Spray Chlorothalonil 0.2%

🐛 Insect Pests
• Red mite → Spray Abamectin 1.9% EC
• Fruit fly → Spray Spinetoram 45% SC

🌾 Harvesting/Threshing
• Harvest when vines near fruit dry and rind turns dull
• Hollow sound on tapping indicates maturity
• Handle fruits carefully and store in shade

⚠️ Special Note:
The above practices are based on recommendations from agricultural universities and scientific research. Yield depends on weather, soil, irrigation, pest, and disease management.