Muskmelon is grown extensively across all over the India. People prefer to eat this fruits in fresh conditions. It also contains carbohydrates, vitamins A, C and minerals which are essential for the body. Today we are going to share information related to advance varieties of muskmelon and careful tips to take care from its cultivation to harvesting.
Advance Varities:
Hara Madhu: It is a good type of muskmelon, in which vines are 3-4 m long. Fruits are large, round, slightly wider on top. The fruit shade is green on which you will see dark green stripes. Generally, the average weight of the fruit is 1 kg.
Pusa Sharbati: In this variety vines grow in straight direction. Fruits are medium-sized round or oval. On one vine there are 3-4 fruits. Its average yield is 41.6-54.1 q / acre.
Pusa Madhuras: This variety of muskmelon has large growing vines. Fruit’s cover is smooth and yellow on which you can see light green stripes. Its average yield is 50-64 q / acre.
Durgapur Madhu: The fruits of this variety are long in size. Its covering is smooth and light green ion color. Average weight of this cariety of fruit is 500-700 grams.
Seeds: 1.6-2.5 kg/acre
Sowing time
• Northern Plains – February to March
• North Eastern Regions – November to March
• Western Region – September to October
• Hilly Regions – April to May
Soil: This crop can be successfully grown in poor to heavy soil. PH of soil should be 6.6-7.0.
Land Preparation: Before sowing the seeds, plough the fields two three time and then use harrow once to make the soil levelled and finely tilled.
Spacing: Line up to 1.5-2.5 m in row and keep the distance of 0.6-1.0 in every plant.
Fertilizer: At the time of final preparation of the field, mix the decomposed cow dung compost of 8.3-10.4 tons. Add 20-52 kg of Nitrogen and 10-25.8 kg of Potash per acre. Put a quarter of the amount of nitrogen after 30 days and rest of the fertilizer after 45 days when the crop start flowering.
Irrigation: Do first irrigation after 2-3 days of sowing and after that 6-7 days of interval. Stop irrigating when the fruit fully grown and are in their ripening stage.
Pest and their control:
Pumpkin Beetle: This beetle damages the crop by eating the leaves. Spray mixture of Chlorpyriphos 3.0 ml or profanophos 2.0 ml with water in per litre water.
White Fly: These pests suck the juice of the leaves from its lower surface, leaving the leaves yellowish. For it prevention mix thiomethoxem 25 W.G. 0.5 gm or imidacloprid 0.5 ml with water in per liter and spray it.
Harvesting: On the basis of weather and variety, after 60-70 days of the seedling, fruits are ready for harvesting. Fully ripen fruits should be harvested. Its average yield is 66.6-83.3 kg per acre.
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