Watermelon farming involves four significant steps \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Watermelon is a short-term farming product that spans the duration of 65-90 days; it requires a clear land plantation with no trees, shrubs, or any tall plants or weeds that could obstruct its access to sunlight. A solid pH level and temperature of 6 to 6.8 and 70\u00b0-90\u00b0 F respectively are needed for optimum yield<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The high demand for Watermelon is an opportunity you can leverage to increase your income if you are an agriculture enthusiast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Land preparation for watermelon farming starts with cutting, tilling, and plowing the soil, which could be divided into beds or ridges for proper soil aeration and to give room for perfect root formation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Watermelon thrives on silt loam and loamy soil, soil with low water-retention abilities considering that the fruit doesn’t thrive in waterlogged lands. However, if you must plant it in waterlogged ground, you must improve drainage with ridging to reduce the land’s ability to retain water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A hectare (2 and a half acres) of farmland after land preparation by plowing and tilling the land would accommodate an average plant count of about 10,000 \u2013 12,000 watermelon plants depending on the plant spacing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Although Watermelon would most likely grow in any soil type, it does very well in slightly acidic soil with pH in the range of 5.8-7pH level. In the same vein, it needs a soil composition that is loamy with an excellent sandy component, which would aid natural drainage for the seed to thrive well and grow without stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have no other option but to cultivate on soil with high clay content, then make beds or ridges and plant the seed on them. Following the steps below will help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The success of any Agribusiness has a lot to do with the seeds used in the process of pre-production, aside from generally putting in place all other acceptable Agricultural Practices such as pesticides, fertilizers, weather conditions, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a good idea to treat your seeds in fungicides and pesticides to protect the seeds against pest and nematode diseases in the soil. For organic means of seed preparation, you can put the seeds in a mix of any organic oil such as castor oil, olive oil, or neem oil with ashes before planting into the soil. Better still, ensure that you purchase only treated seeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there are various seed producers and varieties of watermelon seeds in Nigeria. Each seed variety has particular qualities they are known for, an example of good watermelon seeds is Congo f1, crimson, black diamond, and the likes are seeds produced by company brands like Premier seed, East-West, Technisem, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sachet of 600-1.5kg of seed would almost likely cover a hectare of land using a near-perfect spacing of seedbed of 5-15cm high and 1m wide. The seedbed is covered in a potting mix ( a mixture of manure, sawdust, and ashes) to loosen the soil and also aid the speedy germination of the seedlings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The watermelon seedling is vulnerable in the first week of germination, so it is crucial to cover the seedbed with mulching film to wade away pest, disease infestation, and also heavy rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watermelon seed should be planted 30cm deep into the soil, observing a row spacing of about 2metres apart while maintaining 1 meter apart in between the plant. Under a good agricultural practice, a seed of watermelon plant would produce a minimum of one big plat by harvest time and in rare cases, there could be an occurrence of more than one plat.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLand Requirement and Preparation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Seed Preparation For Watermelon Farming<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Watermelon Seed Sowing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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