Watermelon seed germination

Watermelon  is one of those fruits which takes lots of light, lots of water, lots of nutrients.It is a climbing plant and its leaf is long crinkled  by look.

SPECIFICATION OF WATERMELON

Planting depth : 1inches

Planting space : 6 - 8 seeds per hill
Germination days : 7 - 14
Plant type : loamy, fertile and well drained soil

Sow Outdoors: Surface. Following the last frost. Spacing 4 to 24 inches (10 to 60 cm).

Sow Indoors: Mix seeds in a growing medium, place in a freezer bag, keep moist, then stratify by refrigeration for two to three weeks. Use peat pots. Germination time: one totwo weeks in the light. Temperature 75°F (24°C). Transplant outdoors in the last month of spring.

HOW TO GERMINATE WATERMELON SEEDS

Soaking the seeds before planting increases the risks of various fungal diseases, such as anthracnose caused by the Colletotrichum lagenarium fungus. So don't  soak  the seeds before germination.We know many types of plant seeds benefit from pre-planting soaking to soften the outer seed coating and hasten germination.we don't do that for watermelon.
Watermelon seeds needs warm weather for germinate. It takes approximately three days for a watermelon seed to germinate in 90 degree Fahrenheit conditions, and approximately 10 days when temperatures are at 70 degrees. 

Put the  watermelon seeds in peat pots indoors approximately three to four weeks before the last frost date in your region. Once all risks of frost have passed, you can transplant the watermelon seedlings into the ground.This plants are very frost sensitive  can quickly kill them so avoid the cold time.

Use a flat tray like container about 10 inches by 15 inches (biggest or smaller your choice) 1.5 to 2 inches deep. Make sure you have plenty of holes in it for good water drainage.Take equal quantity of sand, soil and vermicompost. Put the seedling mix you prepared up to almost top leaving about 0.5 inches space. If the seeds are  perfect in size then we can put the seeds over it by 1/3. After that cover the seeds with seedling mix only about 0.5 cm (half centimeter) .water it by watering can. place the container in semi shaded place. Sprinkle diluted fungicide water (2gm in 1 liter water) after sowing the seeds.We have to careful about putting the seed because seeds will not to go deep inside the mixture.

 Sprinkle diluted fungicide water (2gm in 1 liter water) after sowing the seeds.We have to careful about putting the seed because seeds will not to go deep inside the mixture. For  growing the seeds outdoors, try to laying black plastic mulch over the planting site to help absorb the sun's heat and increase soil temperatures during the day, and in turn speed up watermelon germination.

For the best results with watermelons, use 3 pounds of 5-10-10 fertilizer for every 100 square feet of planting space.


BENEFITS OF WATERMELON : Watermelon is a very common fruit and it has many uses in market.Its oil, juice,seeds and many things are useful to us.

1. Fatty acid and many essential proteins and minerals are packed with watermelon seeds.It also contain calories, it provides 600 calories around 100gm watermelon seeds.

 2.Watermelon is important for low cholesterol and low fat.

3.Watermelon contains Vitamin B which helps to keep lot of energy.

4.Watermelon also work for antioxidants which helps to protect from kidney stone, cancer and cardiac aliment

Share this post