Watermelon is regarded as a fruit as well as a vegetable which are usually eaten raw, it is also among the best fruits recommended for people that wish to lose weight.
Meanwhile, if done rationally and on a scalable basis- can be a good source of income. In a few words, most commercial watermelon growers start the crop from seeds (hybrids) in an indoor protected environment.
As they wait for the young seedlings to grow and be ready for transplanting, they prepare the field. They till the land, they make the beds or furrows and they place a black plastic film through the rows.
The black plastic film not only helps the soil become warmer but also controls weeds. They also design and place the drip irrigation system. When they are ready for transplanting, they make small holes in the plastic film, where they dig small holes and plant the seedlings.
Fertilization, Drip Irrigation and Weed Management is applied in most cases. Thinning is also applied. Commercial watermelon growers remove the malformed or underdeveloped watermelons in order to encourage the plant to devote its resources in fewer but bigger and tastier fruits.
Most commercial watermelon varieties can be harvested 78-90 days after transplanting. Harvesting can only be made through hand scissors or knives. After harvesting, watermelon growers plow and destroy the remaining of the crop.
They may also rotate the crop, in order to control diseases or prevent soil from depleting.
Read Also: Guide on How to Grow Watermelon (Summary)
Now let us look at the 4 Reasons Why You Should Invest In Watermelon Farming Business below:
4 Reasons Why You Should Invest In Watermelon Farming Business
1) It gives a High Turnover on investment: It takes a watermelon approximately eighty five days to get to maturity from the planting date which means that you can have three sets of harvested watermelon fruits to sale within the year and if you started out the business on a large scale, then you are sure to get huge returns on your investment.
2) There is a Ready Market for your Produce: Aside from watermelon being a fruit recommended for people that wish to lose weight, it also contains some enzymes that help to fight against cancer causing cells in the body; you see why there will always be a high demand for watermelon.
3) Watermelon is Pest Resistant: This means that watermelon plant is resistant to pests and diseases that usually affect plants; you will not need to spend much on greeting ride of pests from affecting the watermelon.
4) It is very Easy to Start: As long as you have the land space needed for the farming, you don’t need much of other things to get your watermelon business up and running; you don’t need much technical knowledge to run a watermelon farm.
Related: The History and Spread of Cultivated Crops
3 Things You Need to Start a Watermelon Farming Business
1) It Requires a large Expanse of Land: Each watermelon plant is called a vine; and the vines get to spread out as they mature and they need space for the plant to bear bigger fruits. I will talk more on the space needed for a watermelon plant to grow well.
2) It requires Sunlight: A watermelon plant requires of sunlight to grow well therefore the land space must be in a location where there is adequate sunlight to nurture the plants.
3) Good Seedling: The type of seedling you use will affect the output or quality of watermelon fruits your plants will yield. There are very various varieties of watermelon species, you have to make a choice of which variety you wish and carry out further research on how to handle the cultivation process before you embarked on it.
Read Also: General Management Practices for Watermelon
I planted my watermelon sometimes back,it germinated and after weeks it dies off.I wonder what could possibly be the cause?.
There are many factors that could have caused it sir, beginning from the Seed Quality, Environmental Factors, Care for the Plants/Maintenance and Diseases.
I will advice you not to give up and try to give me the full description of how far you went and the signs you noticed in order to enable us figure out where the actual problem came from.