Citrullus lanatus
Cucurbitaceae
Watermelon
Annual vine with branched tendrils. Leaves pinnate or dissected. Yellow flowers. Edible fruit is globose to oblong, dark or light green, mottled or striped.
Uses
Harvest when skin becomes bumpy and the undersurface becomes yellow.
Fruit keep for approximately two weeks.
Eaten raw. Vegetable.
Culture
Requires temperatures between 25-30 degrees C at planting time, followed by four consecutive months of temperatures of 21-30 degrees C. Higher temperatures can be tolerated.
Prefers fertile, friable and well-drained soil. Keep moist, but not waterlogged. Avoid wetting the foliage.
Requires applications of fertiliser throughout the growing season. Optimum soil pH of 5.8
A flat dry surface under the fruit will reduce the risk of pest and disease attack. Pest problems include aphis, mites and leafhopper. Disease problems include powdery and downy mildew, fusarium wilt, black rot, alternaria leaf spot and bacterial wilt.
http://osu.orst.edu/Dept/NWREC/watmelon.html
http://agrolink.moa.my/comoditi/tembikai/tembikai.html
Propagation
No information available at this time...
Cultivars
No information available at this time...
Plant Health
No information available at this time...
More info
'Home Vegetable Growing' and 'Commercial Vegetable Production' courses through Australian Correspondence Schools, see www.acs.edu.au/hort.
'Commercial Hydroponics' on CDROM from Australian Correspondence Schools, see www.acs.edu.au/shop
More from ACS
Ebook - Decide what you can produce in your garden and the growing conditions needed for a range of climates.
View eBook
Course -
Learn to grow, harvest, preserve and store food,
production of milk, cheese making and eggs.
View Course