WATERMWLON SUGAR QUEEN (SYNGENTA)

AGRONOMY
Sowing / Plantation Season	February to July
Growing period from sowing (number of days)	85 days if direct sown
Growing period from planting (number of days)	70 days if planted
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 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-borne fungus.
Plant Population	5000 - 6000 plants per Acre
Seed Rate	300 - 350 Gm per Acre
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
Sowing method	Seed Rate: 300 - 350 g per acre.   Sowing: Direct in the main field   Spacing: Row to Row and Plant to Plant – 120 × 30 cm (Single Row) or 240 × 30 cm (Double Row)
Fertilizer dose with timing	Total N:P: K requirement @ 80:100:120 kg per acre.   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.
Weed Control- Chemicals with doses and timing	Timely weed removal is very important, need based hand weeding can be done to ensure healthy crop. To complete this operation before fruit set
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 pests, fruit flies, and any other insects. Insecticide spray should not be done at the 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 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.
Irrigation Schedule	It needs regular irrigation. The irrigation interval and quantity need to fix to avoid fruit cracking.   In light soil and summer season the irrigation frequency should be more.
Expected Yield of the variety	Average yield: 22 MT/acre (depending on season and cultural practice)