Melon Cultivation Guide

EXPLORE MUSKMELON

MELON

CULTIVATION

From seed to fruit Complete crop information

Let’s Know, What is Musk melon Melon is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. Its closest relatives are squashes and cucumbers. Melons originate from Africa and southwestern parts of Asia.

Ancient Egyptians have been cultivated melons 2000 years BC. After they become widely spread and popular in Europe, melons were introduced to America by the Spanish settlers during the 15th and 16th century. There are numerous varieties of melons that dier in size, color and sweetness of the fruit. Melons are symbol of fertility and vitality, but also of luxury because they were expensive and scarce in the past.

Melons have high nutritional value. They are rich source of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamins of the B group, and minerals such as manganese, iron and phosphorus.They are also rich in potassium, a nutrient that may help control blood pressure, regulate heart beat, and possibly prevent strokes.

25 Dierent Varieties of Melons

Let’s Know, How can we grow a healthy melon crop.

Farmers need natural resources , such as land, air, nutrients, water and sunlight for heathy crop. Every crop is highly dependent on the climate. Climate affects all components of crop production. The second key component is soil. It is a key element of agriculture. Without it we wouldn´t be able to grow plants, which are used as food for both humans and animals. Like climate or soil Water is also very important for both livestock and for plants. It forms a large part of all plant tissues as well as being an essential component of all animal body cells. In crop agriculture, water is an important climatic factor. It affects or determines plant growth . And the last process is harvesting. It is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. For maximum vase life of cut flowers, harvest flowers daily at their proper stage of development. Harvesting too early or too late significantly reduces the vase life of the flowers. With these sources farmers can easily grow a healthy crop.

Right way of melon farming can reward any farmer with enough fruit to enjoy

Climate requirement for melon cultivation.

Muskmelon plant flourish well under warm climate and cannot tolerate frost. The optimum temperature for germination of the seed is 27 degree Celsius - 30 degree Celsius with increase in temperature. Dry weather with clear sunshine during ripening ensure a high sugar content, better flavors and a high percentage a marketable fruits. High humidity increase the incidence of diseases, particularly those effecting foliage. Cool nights and warm days are ideal for accumulation of sugar in the fruits. Lighter soil which warm up quickly in spring are usually utilized for early yield and in heavier soils the vine growth will be more and fruit maturity will be delayed.

Warm climate and can’t tolerate frost

Soil requirement for melon cultivation.

Muskmelon is mainly grown on sand and sandy – loam soils on river bed. But other type of soil is also favorable for its cultivation. The land is prepared thoroughly by repeated ploughing. It grow well in deep fertile and well-drained soil. It gives best result when grown on well drained loam soil. Soil having poor drainage capacity is not suited for Muskmelon cultivation. Follow crop rotation as continuous growing of same crop on same ďŹ eld leads loss of nutrients, poor yield and more disease attack. pH of soil should be in between 6-7. Alkaline soil with high salt concentration is not suitable for cultivation.

The optimum soil PH is 6.0 to 6.7

Land preparation and Sowing for melon cultivation.

Plough land and bring to fine tilth. In North India, sowing is done in middle of February month. In North east and west India sowing is done during November to January. Land should be free volunteer plants of the same crop or other crossable species. A seed crop field must be isolated all around to a minimum distance of 1000m to 500m for foundation and certified seed. Sow seeds in polythene bag of 15cm x 12cm size with thickness of 100 gauge in last week of January or first week of February. Fill polythene bag with equal proportion of well rotten cow dung and soil. Seedlings are ready for transplantation by end of February or first week of March. Transplantation is done for 25-30 days old seedling.

Sowing is done in middle of February month

Water requirement for melon cultivation.

Apply irrigation, every week in summer season. At time of maturity give irrigation only when needed. Avoid over flooding in muskmelon field. During application of irrigation, do not wet the vines or vegetative parts, especially during flowering and fruit-set. Avoid frequent irrigation in heavy soil as it will promote excessive vegetative growth. For better sweetness and flavor, stop irrigation or reduce watering 3-6days before harvesting. During summer, irrigation the crop every week. At the time of fruit maturity water should be given when it is absolutely necessary. In no case water should be allowed to come in the contact with fruits. Depending upon soil type and whether conditions, irrigation the field 9-11 times.

Irrigation the field 9-11 times.

Pest, weed and disease management for melon cultivation.

Pests and diseases aect melon crop, causing signiďŹ cant losses to farmers and threatening food security.

Pest management for melon cultivation.

Aphid and Thrips : They suck the sap from the leaves resulting in yellowing and drooping of leaves. Thrips results in curling of leaves, leaves become cup shaped or curved upward.

Leaf Miner : Maggots of leaf miner feed on leaf and make serpentine mines into leaf. It aects the photosynthesis and fruit formation.

Fruit y: It is a serious pest. Females lay eggs below epidermis of young fruits. Later on maggots feed on pulp afterward fruits starts rotting.

Squash Bug : The squash bug is primarily a pest of mekon, squash and zucchini but can be found on any cucurbit crop. The squash bug overwinters as an adult in sheltered areas and emerges during midsummer.

Disease management for melon cultivation.

Powdery Mildew : Patchy, white powdery growth appears on upper surface of leaves and also on main stem of infected plant. It parasitizes the plant using it as a food source. In severe infestation it causes defoliation and premature fruit ripening.

Sudden wilt: It can aect crop at any stage. Plant get weak and give yellow appearance at initial stage, in severe infestation complete wilting is observed.

Downy Mildew : It occurs frequently in muskmelon and less in case of watermelon. Yellowing occurs on upper side of leaves. Later yellowing get increases and center of leaves turning brown. Underside of leaves white-gray light blue fungus appears. Cloudy, rainy and humid conditions are favorable for spread of this disease.

Scab: This disease is more prevalent during cool weather conditions .The fungus requires the occurrence of frequentrains or heavy dews for infection.

HPM’S Contribution in melon cultivation.

HPM is a highly focused research driven agrochemical company. Every day HPM touches thousand of lives. At HPM, we want make agriculture better for farmers and families. we pledge to do so in a transparent and sustainable way. In future we will do more than treat agricultural problems—we will aim to make a remarkable impact on farmer’s lives.

Our life’s work is to improve agriculture

24 Karat Dose : 1.2-2 ml in ltr of water Also improves the physiological efficiency of the crop by stimulating the hormonal and enzymatic activities and increases the yield and quantity of the crop produce. 24 Karat mobilizes reserves in seed to germinating point leading to breaking of seed dormancy and faster germination 24 Karat stimulates cell division and elongation that causes internodes to stretch leading to better growth of the plant. Improves taste and quality of fruits , and enhances their marketability specific to crop. Improves photosynthesis and plant metabolism, Improves leaf area and root system.

Regulates GA: ABA ratio leading to less flower and fruit drop. It increases stem length in flowers grown for export. 24 Karat is unique combination of Sea weed extracts and GA . Gibberellic Acid acts synergistically with plant metabolism and accelerates the growth functions of the plant.

HPM Gold Dose : 4 kg / acre HPM GOLD is unique product containing microbes as Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM) and has broad spectrum action in granular form. It contains granular spores and other propagules of VAM Mycorrhizal Fungi in a granular carrier and has broad spectrum fertilizer activity. Due to high solubility in water it is absorbed rapidly through plants and roots, resulting maximum supply of compost and micronutrient to the crop. roots growth with excellent root setting, resulting greenness by vanishing yellowing in crop. It helps in greater utilization of nutrients, and provides plant protection from disease causing organism to the root and also makes insect resistant plant. It is completely safe to use HPM Gold. It also combats with the drought and stress loss by the crop. Its mycelial threads penetrate inward into the root, thereby increasing the surface area for absorption and translocation of essential plant nutrients including Phosphorus, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Calcium, Zinc and copper.

Aasra Dose : 5 ml in 15 ltr of water Aasra solution spreads quickly, and provides enhanced spreading of agrochemicals on the leaf surfaces and leads to better spray coverage, which improves the eďŹƒcacy of the agrochemical used. It is when added to spray water tank lowers the tension of spray water on leaf surface, which promotes the better spreading and penetration of Agro product. Aasra is compatible with most agrochemical formulations and can be used on a wide variety of crops. It has improved deposition of the agro product which enhances its coverage and retention on foliage. It ensures the solution doesn't wash o even after immediate rain. Aasra is designed in such a way that it ensures proper wetting of leaf surface, which makes the pesticide or agro product uptake and absorption rapidly by the plant. It ensures the proper penetration of the agrochemical product into the plant by reducing the droplet sizes of the spray. It is suggested to uses Aasra with agrochemicals at 0.025%-0.1% dose. General recommendation is 5 ml/ 15 lit. of water.

Heera Zinc Plus Dose : 250 gm per acre / 250 ltr. of water Zinc is most important nutrient in all the micro nutrient. It used manly in to improve nutrient growth in Soil. It improves the health and makes greenery in crops. It acts as resistant against disease and gives proper growth. Dosage: Foliar Spray @ 250 gm/acre in 250ltrs water.

Harvesting The fruits of Hara madhu should be harvested when its turns yellow. Other varieties should be picked at mature green stage for distant marketing and at 'half slip' stage for local market.Melons typically ripen over a short period of time, up to 3 to 4 weeks for cantaloupes. As soon as one melon is ripe, the others won’t be far behind. About a week before a melon is ripe, minimize watering to just enough to keep vines from wilting. This lets vines concentrate sugars in the fruit. Too much water dilutes the sugar and, of course, the sweetness.

You can judge a cantaloupe’s ripeness by skin color and stem. The rind of a cantaloupe changes from gray-green to yellow-buff, and the netting pattern becomes more pronounced. At the stem, a crack appears that encircles the base of the stem. A ripe melon should slip right off the vine.

Cantaloupes also develop a musky odor that’s noticeable as you approach the melon patch.The smooth-skinned honeydew melon becomes cream colored when ripe, and the blossom end should give slightly when pressed. Avoid pressing the blossom end repeatedly as you try to gauge ripeness. Excessive pressing can lead to bruising, which gives a false read on ripeness. To harvest a honeydew you don’t plan to use immediately, leave about an inch of stem attached to keep the melon from rotting

A ripe melon should slip right off the vine

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