WATERMWLON HAPPY FAMILY (SEED LESS) (SYNGENTA)

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 a previous crop other than Cucurbitaceae.   Land should be well prepared.  1-2 deep plowing 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-borne 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, and should be grown with professional YPR, complete protocol needs to be followed. Seedless and Seeded Sowing should be done 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 plowing      SSP   200 kg 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 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 applies fungicide as per recommendation from the Department of Agriculture (plant protection) to control damping-off, Downey Mildew, Powdery Milde,w, and other fungal diseases. Apply recommended insecticide to control suckinpestsst, fruit fly, es, and any other insects. Insecticide spray should not be done at the flowering stage (25 - 45Days) to enable honeybee activities for pollination. For the watermelon crop leaf minor, thrips, and the fruit fly are major insects. While Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew, Wilt, Anthracnose,e, and Gummy Stem Blight are the major diseases. Timely control of insects and diseases will help to achieve excellent crop growth. Do not spray during the 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 the label available for wm   Other than this use VF for leaf minor @ 12-15 days (also the e it in the 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 a 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 tendrilattachesh to the fine dullDull appearance of the fruit compared to their slick app arance3.Narrowing of the rind strips towards the head end.4.Maturity is also judged by metallic  sounds5. After harvesting fruits should not be left long in the sun othescalesun 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.