Kerala Agri Uni to popularise seedless watermelon varieties

Future time you go for kitchen area or terrace garden farming, test the seedless watermelon versions designed by Kerala Agricultural University.

Christened Shonima and Swarna, these hybrid versions have been developed underneath a newly made polyhouse (10 cents) at Vellanikkara in Thrissur as a result of mulching, drip irrigation and sowing seeds on lifted beds coated with polythene mulch. To popularise its commercial cultivation, the University has demonstrated the feasibility of seedless watermelon at a polyhouse made with funding from the State Horticulture Mission.

Pradeepkumar T, Head, Section of Vegetable Science, KAU, explained to BusinessLine that these special hybrids are suitable for polyhouse and open up precision farming. A industry demonstration underneath open up precision farming was carried out with significant density planting.

Financially rewarding crop

The production value for one acre is believed to be ₹50,000 that will fetch a produce of three to four watermelons for each plant with just about every fruit weighing 2.5 to three kg. The farm gate selling price is predicted to be ₹20 and the farmer can generate a earnings of ₹1.2 lakh from an acre in four months.

Seed selling price is fixed at ₹1 and there are 30,000 seeds in one kg. Seeds can be purchased through electronic mail and farmers from outdoors Kerala are also buying them on line.

Kishorkumar N K, a farmer in Varandarappilly in Trichur, maintains that seedless watermelon cultivation is a successful undertaking and has uploaded a video clip on Fb highlighting the technique of farming.

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Even though watermelon is the most successful vegetable crop, its cultivation is minimal to specified pockets in the state this kind of as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, UP and Gujarat.

At present, none of these areas cultivate seedless watermelon. The non-availability of seeds and prerequisite of pollenisers are limiting aspects in popularising the cultivation of seedless watermelon, stated Pradeepkumar.

Given that it is a significant value vegetable suitable for secured cultivation and precision farming, demonstration of production technological innovation underneath this procedure with fertigation, mulching and scientific pruning will aid popularise cultivation in any commercial farm, significant-tech vegetable farmers and export growers, he included.