WaterMelon Farming: How to Start Watermelon Farming in Nigeria.

Watermelon Farming in Nigeria | The red juicy flesh of the Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) will always leave you staring and salivating at the
slightest glance. The watermelon is a scrambling in the flowering plant family Cucurbitaceae, said to have originated from southern African, is a found shape berry with deep red to pink flesh with lots of spherical shaped black seeds. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled and the rind is edible after cooking.

Not only is it an ideal fruit because of its ravishing looks it is for its nutritional value. Look, the watermelon fruit contains 91% of water contains 6% sugars, and is low in fat.

In a 100 gram serving, watermelon fruit supplies 30 calories and low amounts of essential nutrients though only vitamin C is present in appreciable content at 10% of the daily value. Watermelon pulp contains carotenoids, including lycopene. The amino acid citrulline is produced in watermelon rind. Looking at the nutritional value, I guess venturing into watermelon farming would be a bad idea, wouldn’t you agree?

•Steps on How to Start Watermelon Farming

I wouldn’t want it to look bogus to you which is why am going to simplify everything. Trust me, this business is a very lucrative business you would thank me later for if you heed this principles.

>MAKE A PLAN: Business plan is essential for a good start; you’ll realize later that you’re spending more than expected but a business plan helps direct you and curtails your expenses. In this plan, you can write about your objectives, the land location yada yada. This is really going to be helpful to guide you so you don’t get lost at the point when you can’t figure out you are exactly.

>CONSULT EXPERTS: The thing is I would have just advised you to proceed to the next step but you can’t escape this particular step. You don’t need experts because you’re a novice rather note not every detail about the watermelon is online thus, you’ll need the advice of those who’ve been in the business for a while and understand the dos and don’ts. They’ll tutor you about things you may face as you’ll be venturing into the business. Believe me, you’ll be glad you met them.

>LOCATION: Watermelons are tropical or subtropical plants and need temperatures higher than about 25 °C (77 °F) to thrive. So, you need to find a location can is best for the plant so you don’t be at loss at the end of the day.

>CLEAR THE LAND AND GET READY: The land purchased may not be readymade so you’ll be the one to clear and make the land ready for cultivation.

>GO: Start planting the seeds you bought either at the market or at grocery shops. Note: On a garden scale, seeds are usually sown in pots under cover and transplanted into well-drained sandy loam with a pH between 5.5 and 7, and medium levels of nitrogen.

>WEED AND APPLY PESTICIDES: Major pests of the watermelon include aphids, fruit flies and root-knot nematodes. In conditions of high humidity, the plants are prone to plant diseases such as powdery mildew and mosaic virus. Some varieties often grown in Japan and other parts of the Far East are susceptible to fusarium wilt. Grafting such varieties onto disease-resistant rootstocks offers protection. Thus, at the sight of any pest, pesticides should be applied carefully as not to affect the flowers.

>GROWTH: Watermelons have a longer growing period than other melons, and can often take 85 days or more from the time of transplanting for the fruit to mature. : Farmers of the Zentsuji region of Japan found a way to grow cubic watermelons by growing the fruits in metal and glass boxes and making them assume the shape of the receptacle. The cubic shape was originally designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but cubic watermelons may be triple the price of normal ones, so appeal mainly to wealthy urban consumers. Pyramid-shaped watermelons have also been developed and any polyhedral shape may potentially be used.