Happy Family (Seedless)

Overview

Features :

Seedless Watermelon (No visible black seeds)
High Sweetness: TSS 13% to 14%
Red flesh with good flavor and crisp
Very good rind thickness long distance transportability
Very good shelf life

Characteristics

Weight

3 – 4 kg

Recommended states

Recommended states for cultivation under normal agro climatic conditions in:

Kharif	MH, KA, GJ, AP, TS
Rabi	MH, KA, GJ, AP, TS

Agronomy

Flexible Agronomy

Suitability of the variety for the Area Agro Climatic Zone

All the states growing Personal Size Watermelon (MH, KA, GJ, AP, TS)
Selection of the field/land preparation practices

Land selection - Soils with good nutrition (medium soil, loam to sandy loam). The soil must be having excellent drainage history. If possible use the land with previous crops other than Cucurbitaceae.

Land should be well prepared. 1-2 deep ploughing followed by 3-4 rounds of harrows to get fine tilt.

Before the final harrow, apply 8 to 10 MT well-decomposed FYM/acre along with 1kg Trichoderma for controlling soil-born fungus.
Seed Treatment-rate of timing/ chemical

Seeds are treated with Carbendazim 2g + Thiram 2 g per Kg of seeds.
Sowing Time

Late Winter, Early Summer, Summer
Seed Rate/ Sowing method- line sowing with row to row and plant to plant distance/ direct sowing
Sowing / Transplanting Methods: In this case, the seedless watermelon seeds are never sown directly on the field. It is recommended to grow the seed in the tray and should be transplanted at 4 leaf stage in the main field.

Nursery Management -
- Seedless watermelon generally has a hard seed coat, should be grown with professional YPR, complete protocol needs to be followed.
- Seedless and Seeded Sowing should be done in a staggering of 5-8 days (Seedless First)
- The tray should be of Cavity square – 2.5 to 3.1cm square
- The coco-peat could be as rough/granular as possible for Seedless WM
Seed Rate:
200gm seedless and 100gm seeded per acre. (Apx. 4000plant seedless and 2000plant seeded)

Spacing:
- Row to Row and Plant to Plant – 120 × 30 cm (Single Row) or 240 × 30 cm (Double Row)
- Seedless and seeded must be done in a 2:1 ratio. (2 rows seedless and 1 row seeded) Seeded at Borderlines.
Pollination Management:
- Seedless watermelon does not produce pollens hence pollinators (Seeded WM) are planted.
- The pollens are transferred from seeded to seedless flowers by bees.
- In general, 2-3 hives are required per Acre. Keep beehives in shade with water in a shallow pot.
- The bees are diploid when 25% of plants have flowers.
- Do not spray during the peak pollination period.
- More than 24 visits are required of bees for successful pollination

Fertilizer dose with timing

Total N:P:K requirement @ 80:100:120 kg per acre.

Dose & Timing:

Basal Dose: Apply 50% N and 100% P, K as basal dose during final land preparation.

Top Dressing: 25% N at 30 days after sowing and 25% N at 50 days after sowing.

Fertigation Management

FYM	5000-10000 kg	After ploughing
SSP	200 kg	Before bed making	30 kg Cal Nitrate
MOP	50 kg	Before bed making	50 kg MgSo4
Urea	75 kg	Pre-planting
Through drip
Crop stage	DAT	Fert name	Qua kg/ day/ A	No of Days
Vegetative	00 to 10 DAT	No fertigation
	11 to 15 DAT	19:19:19	4	5
	16 to 25 DAT	12:61:00	5	10
Flowering	26 to 35 DAT	Cal Nitrate	5	10
Early fruiting	36 to 45 DAT	SOP	4	10
Fruiting	46 to 55 DAT	Pot Nitrate	5	10
	56 to 62 DAT	12:61:00+ SOP	3+2	7
	63 to 73 DAT	19:19:19	5	12
	63 to 73 DAT	SOP	2	12

Weed Control- Chemicals with doses and timing

For watermelon cultivation, hand weeding is suggested. There can be 2-3 weeding before the early fruit formation stage. After that, it is advised to restrict labor movement in the field so as to achieve less damage to crops and no disturbance to honeybee activities. In India herbicides use is not yet in practice.

Diseases & Pest control- Chemicals with doses and timing

For effective crop control apply fungicide as per recommendation from the Department of Agriculture (plant protection) to control Damping off, Downey Mildew, Powdery Mildew and other fungal diseases. Apply recommended insecticide to control sucking pest, fruit fly and any other insects.

Insecticide spray should not be done at flowering stage (25 - 45Days) to enable honeybee activities for pollination.

For watermelon crop leaf minor, thrips and the fruit fly are major insects. While Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Wilt, Anthracnose and Gumy Stem Blight are the major diseases. Timely control of insect and diseases will help to achieve excellent crop growth. Do not spray during peak pollination period.

Crop Stage	DAT	Chemical	Dose/acre	Application
Crop establishment	05 DAT	Isabion	600 ml	Drench
Vegetative/Flowering/Fruiting	10 DAT	Kavach + Pegasus	240 gm + 240 gm	Foliar
	40 DAT	Isabion	350 ml	Foliar
	40 DAT	Pegasus	240 gm	Foliar
Fruit Development	45 DAT	Kavach	240 gm	Foliar

The schedule is as per label available for wm

Other than this use VF for leaf minor @ 12-15 dat (also use it in nursery)

Use good chemistry to control Thrips

Irrigation Schedule

Irrigation management is very crucial in watermelon cultivation. Looking at the soil type and season, irrigation frequency and quantity can be decided. The drip irrigation system is strongly advised for this crop. After fruit setting irrigation interval needs to be fixed and maintained. Sudden change in irrigation frequency after fruit set can cause fruit busting and hollow heart. The moisture level needs to be maintained at an optimum level.
Harvesting

Harvest the fruit at the time of physiological maturity. Date of maturity or days after transplanting (65-70 days for seedless and 70-75 days for seeded)

Maturity of watermelon can be judged by the following steps:

1.A dead tendril attach to the vine

2.Dull appearance of the fruit compared to their slick appearance

3.Narrowing of the rind strips towards the head end.

4.Maturity is also judged by metallic sounds

5.After harvesting fruits should not be left long in the sun otherwise sun scaled may develop

Note - Seedless watermelon harvesting should be done 2-3 times and Seeded can be done 1-2 times
Expected Yield of the variety

Average yield: 20-24 mt Seedless and 8 -10 mt Seeded /acre (depending on season and crop management practice)

*Note- Yield data provided from trial averages with moderate input. It may vary from location to location with Genotype x Environment interaction.

Plant type	Strong Vigorous Plant
Shape	Round Fruit shape
Yield	Average yield: 20-24 mt Seedless and 8 -10 mt Seeded /acre (depending on season and crop management practice)

Overview

Weight

Recommended states

Flexible Agronomy

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