Etheral final spray done yesterday
Dear RAMU,
Very nice & good vegetative growths, best of luck.
Best Regards,
AZhar2345
On 43 rd days after sowing , we noticed lot of female flowers in our watermelon field and Profuse growth of plants …The etherel hormone sprayed at weekly interval right from 15 th day after sowing has shown tremendous effect in early flowering and more female flowers … The watermelon produce internal hormones such as Auxin , Gibbereralin , Ethelene for keeping vegetative growth and flower and fruit development in a balanced way .If there are any variations found in soil fertility , prevailing weather or indiscriminate application of nitrogenous fertilizers it will cause an internal hormonal imbalance that in turn would reflect on abnormal growth resulting in poor flowers and fruit set …so we keep spraying ethelene at weekly interval until flowers are noticed .
now we do spray of bio 95 ,a bio organic principle that keeps the plant cells growing actively and delay the senescence ( plant cells going inactive ) . Thus we can have all the watermelon fruits developed in uniform size and more sweet
Mr.RAMU & ALL,
Very nice growth of the crop, thank for posting photos. we wants to know that you have sprayed the Bio 95 Mixed with Etheral or done individually . As i know it can be done by mixing with any pesticide & Fungicide. what will be the duration you adopted for Bio 95, I mean from which day to which day. we have sowed the seeds on 22nd of Feb 2017. today we find lot of germination just after 6 days. photos attached for comments and suggestion. one more thing that i am planning to applying NPK 19-19-19, NPK 13-0-45, NOk 12-61-0 & Urea - from 15th day to roots of the plant through irrigation or by giving one glass liquid Mixture to each plant, it will cost me little bit more but this is the way I can adopt, as I am not having drip irrigation system.
Best Regards,
Azhar2345
Dear Mr.Azhar
Bio 95 is an additive working just like an APSA 80 product of Amway . It does not work effectively alone but boost the action of absorption of plant nutrients , bio synthesis etc…But ethereal is a hormone that should not be mixed with other chemicals whether bio or organic …
Hello Ramu Sir,
Can you suggest any remedy for my watermelon crop, i don’t see lot of vegetative growth. Also attaching some pics
Thanks
Rakesh
Dear Mr.Rakesh
Active Vegetative growth in water melon is noticed from day 12 to 45 days …
To achieve good vegetative growth before this time limit ,
1.You should keep the soil weed free and loose around the base of the plant
2.Should apply enough organic manure @ 2.5 kgs of farmyard manure per square meter
3.You should apply enough nitrogenous fertilizer say Urea -
4.Basal application of Single super phosphate should be done - 75 % of total phosphorus requirement should be applied before sowing seeds to quicken the root growth and establishment
5.Maintain the watermelon free from pest and disease for at least first 45 days
6.Once the watermelon passes vegetative phase and enters into reproductive phase - flowering and fruit set , you should minimize the quantity of nitrogen and increase the quantity of phosphorus and potash
I peruse from your pixels that watermelon has already gone well into reproductive phase .So here after you can not attempt to induce vegetative growth or it would be difficult to direct the plant go into vegetative growth …The plant undergoes series of growth phase in order especially short duration crops like vegetables
So it is better you can try to harvest the available fruits in a better way
Thank you Ramu sir
Sir, I am planning to start plantation of watermelon in the month of April. Our field in Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Pls help me in cultivation care nd precaution to be taken in summer. Also we are going to mulch the crop
Great … It is not wrong to grow watermelon in April or May …But important things to note in regard to watermelon cultivation in off season or extreme weather like hot summer when temperature goes rising beyond 37 degree Celsius is that the sprouting and growth will be seen retarded and yield will not be economical to spend on cultivation …Mulching might help in weed control and water conservation but the watermelon sown in April would come into flowering either in the middle of May or end of May which is hottest month with burning heat waves that might prevent flowering and fruit set . Even if it set fruits , it will not develop into enough size and taste and total yield of fruits in an unit area of cultivation .
To be frank , I have no idea about prevailing weather and climate in your location .You are the best judge about your location . So act accordingly and consult nearby farmers if it is worth pursuing watermelon cultivation in April
watermelon covered entire land during second phase of fertigation. We noticed more female flowers and flowering continues for another ten days till 60 th days after sowing
Watermelon fruits are noticed among the vines and found increasing in size …Also new fruits are forming enormously
Ramu Sir
Please look at below pics. i have this infestation in leaves.
I sprayed trizofos,difinethuran early even before major damage. Even then i see leaves are crippling
Also some of the fruits are not in correct shape. Can you advise something.
On a side note what do you recommend for weed control if we are doing flood irrigation. I am spending lot of money on labor for de-weeding.
Do we have a herbicide that can be used in watermelon.
Thanks
Rakesh
Dear Ramu sir,
In the shops around my place no one knows what is ETHERAL spray, can you please give out some company names which sell this product.
Dear Mr.rakesh
Your crop is damaged by sucking pest …I see few thrips on ventral surface of leaves …Since sucking pest suck the plant sap the leaves simply curl up and dry …
The malformation in watermelon fruit is due to improper pollination and boron deficiency …
You should have sprayed Imidachloprid for the sucking pest …The chemicals keeps producing its killing effect for about 12-14 days . So 2 spray at 12 days interval will cure the plant
Mal formation is due to micro nutrients deficiency
Weedicide in grown up crop is not recommended …
Your crop has already on third phase of flowering and fruit development …Now what you can do is that you just control the pest and provide irrigation every other day …Remove weeds by hands …To rejuvenate watermelon apply 1.0 kg extra urea per acre for 3- 4 fertigation
Farming without proper understanding and knowledge of crops and soil will escalate the cost of production and poor crop …
So just save your present crop and before going for next crop , do consult somebody close to your area on soil preparation , soil fertility , planting geometry , weeding in time , fertigation schedule and protective spraying etc …
What is written either in text book and internet is for ideal condition of crop production . But condition everywhere is not same and there you see lot of variation across the country …
So first understand about your soil status in terms of soil type , soil profile , bulk density , drainage , water holding capacity , soil structure and texture and native soil fertility level
Likewise know about prevailing weather and climate and sowing season for specific crops
and suitable variety for your location
Understand about the pest and disease that might damage your crops as it grows over the period of time …
And also nutrients supplements and combination and ratio between organic and inorganic nutrients source …
If your strictly understand and know all the above aspects before hand , then your cultivation will be hassle free and produce good crops without incurring additional expenditure
Mr.Soori
You can get etherel from Bayor India company dealer …
Ramu Sir
Thanks for the reply. I did treat my seed with imidachloropid before sowing, but i think i didnt help.
I totally agree with you on the aspect of understanding the land and other aspects of farming. Can you suggest any book which can help in understanding the basics of farming
Thanks
Rakesh
Imidachloprid is the best insecticide …May be the way you used this chemicals would be wrong . Also now your crop is more than 50 days old . Any pesticide will work for limited period . Some books for your reference - Principles of Agronomy , Soil fertility and fertilizers - An introduction to nutrient management , Fundamental of Crop physiology , Economic importance of Vegetable pest and disease , Compendium of New generation pesticides .
Thank you Ramu sir.
Had a bitter experience with watermelon cultivation…I had gone with drip irrigation on 10 acres. I was supposed to go for harvest last wednesday but i did not get good buyer, I have dropped the price to 3500 INR/ton still was not able to sell all, i’m left with another 40 tonnes.
Learnings:
This is purely based on my experience, I could be wrong
- If everyone is planning then either you wait or take risk and start early. In my case, many had started sowing seeds during 1st week of Jan. Now the market is flooded with fruits and brokers are asking for very low price
- If you are planning to cultivate 10+ acres, do not do it in 1 shot. Start with 3 acres and after 2 weeks go for the next lot of 3 acres. This way you will have time to address any issues and mitigate the risk. Also if there is shortage of water you can divert water to the lot which is critical. In my situation, I ran out of water in the last week and I had to get water in tanker and save the crop
Thanks…