How to Successfully Start a Watermelon Farm in Nigeria

 

One of the highly patronize fruits in Nigeria and abroad is Watermelon, it is largely cultivated and consumed across the globe, and as such, farmers have seized the opportunity of this profitable Agribusiness to establish financial freedom. Learn How to Successfully Start a Watermelon Farm in Nigeria today.

So if you are thinking of cultivating simple crops that can be planted and harvested within a short period of time like cucumber, okra and the likes for instance gratification don’t forget to add watermelon to your list.

How To Successfully Start A Watermelon Farm In Nigeria

The following steps are therefore needed to be considered in starting a successful watermelon farming in Nigeria and anywhere in the world.

1. Land Preparation

Since you can’t cultivate the watermelon in a river, you’ll have to clear the land to be used for farming against any grass and debris. If you are going to use dry land, tilling is very necessary so as to aid the root movement easily and to aid easy penetration of water.

2. Seeds Preparation

After you must have done all the necessary things on the land, then you need to prepare the seeds to be planted. If the seeds will be prepared by you, you are to dry them for 5 – 7 days to make sure they really dried off. But if you are getting the seeds from a store, you don’t need to since they only sell the dried ones.

3. Planting of the Watermelon Seeds

Depending on what you feel, you can plant the watermelon seeds the same day you prepared the bed. In so doing, give a space of about 2-ft by 2-ft and plant 2 to 3 seeds. Since you’ll be doing the thinning after days of successful germination.

4. Application of Manure or Fertlizer

It is immaterial that the soil is fertile, watermelon requires adequate nutrients at some certain stage of germination. To avoid any shortage of nutrients, you will need to be applying manure as it grows.

The watermelon plant is susceptible to insects and diseases. The commonest one is Fusarium wilt anthracite, when you noticed any strange changes, kindly uproot and burn it. So after the 10th and 14th days of germination, apply insecticide, subsequently, apply on the 37th and 57th days of planting.

6. Irrigation

You are to water the watermelons in the first 2 to 3 weeks after seed planting. Watermelon is known with deep roots and this enables it to extracts moisture, so until the roots grow out, the crop is to be watered with a slow deep soak.

Thus, you are to stop watering the plant when it begins fruiting regardless of whether or not it rains. This is to allow the concentration of the sugar in the fruit and the watermelon flesh to be crispy.