Watermelons are sweet juicy fruits with lots
of health benefits. The nourishing fruit is grown extensively in West African
countries. They are also cultivated in Asian countries, Egypt and India.
The popular fruits earliest record goes back
4000 years in ancient Egypt. Easy to grow it requires good soil, water,
adequate sunlight. To start a watermelon farm secure farm land, purchase
seedlings, prepare the soil, grow.
Health Benefits
of Watermelon
The fruit is believed to aid the body’s
metabolism, control obesity and unclog blood vessels. It contains lots of
vitamins, folic acid, iron, magnesium, good source of potassium.
How to
Start a Watermelon Farm
- Secure farm land
- know the
planting season
- purchase/prepare
seed
- prepare soil
organically
- cultivate
- harvest when
ripe
- marketing and
sales
Secure Farm
Land
Secure a good farm land for the cultivation
of the melons. The best soil composite is loamy or sandy soil. It is essential
you introduce fertilizer to the soil. Find an area with adequate sunlight,
water.
The water sources could be a stream, river,
well or borehole. Watermelon plants only need moderate amount of water to grow.
The farmer could lease farm land or purchase accordingly.
- loamy or sandy
soil
- introduce
fertilizer
- area with
adequate sunlight
- good water
source
Prepare the
Seeds
The juicy fruit is known to have lots of
seeds. The farmer should use only quality seeds for better yield. To check the quality
of the seed dip in 4% solution of salt/water. Quality seeds tend to sink to the
bottom and are ideal for farming.
Prepare
Seeds: To prepare the seed for planting
you need to follow some simple steps. Sowing the seeds without preparing them
would not yield any result. This is because the seeds have a leathery shell.
To prepare the seeds soak in warm water daily.
The water temperature should not exceed 35C. The next step is to heat the seeds
under the sun for a period of 9-10 days. This makes the seeds resistant to disease,
ready for planting.
Cultivation
Method
Conventional cultivation method is to create
rows for the seeds 2.5m. The distance between crops should not exceed 2m.
The depth of the sow hole depends on the type
of melon. The soil should be fertilized
and composited, and then introduce the prepared seeds.
You can use a seed per hole to achieve larger
melons. Make sure you provide adequate space between plants to accommodate the
fruit. For best result use organic fertilizer or compost.
Avoid fresh manure because it affects the quality,
taste, plants resistance and hasten ripening. Make sure the plants are uniformly
distributed in rows. Once they grow on the central stem control the fruit formation.
Watering
the Plant
Watermelons tend to have long roots that are capable
of finding water. The early stage of growth needs occasional watering to grow
the plant.
Pollination is generally achieved by flying
insect attracted to the flowers. To achieve quick fruiting pollinate 'yourself'
by introducing male to female flowers.
Harvesting
the Watermelons
Make sure the watermelons are fully ripe
before harvesting. The fruits are durable and long lasting. A ripe fruit feature
uniformity in color and is well rounded.
You need heavy duty truck to carry the bulky
fruits to the market. Sell you produce to wholesalers, fruit vendors, market
women, supermarkets. Others potential customers are beverage drink makers,
fruit stands.
Where to
Sell Watermelon
- Fruit wholesalers
- fruit vendors
- market women
- supermarkets
- beverage drink
makers
- fruit juice
manufacturers
- fruit stands
Planting
Season in Nigeria
The best planting season in southern Nigeria
are March, June, September. The northern areas plant in May and July.
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