2032 



MELON 



MELON 



require a liberal moisture supply during their early 

 life, but are able to produce abundantly in regions 

 with relatively spare rainfall. In order to develop 

 superior quality, the temperature during the fruit- 

 bearing period should be high. 



The preparatory treatment of the soil for water- 

 melons preferred by most growers is to turn under a 

 crop of cowpeas the previous autumn. An area which 

 has not been under cultivation for several seasons and 

 upon which there is a good stand of broom-sedge or 

 grass is the second choice. While watermelon seed 

 does not require to be planted early, the land should be 

 prepared in time to allow weed seeds to germinate so 

 that at least the early weed crop can be destroyed by 

 harrowing before the melon seed is planted. This is 

 important as the crop can be given thorough cul- 

 ture only previous to the vining of the plants. The 

 object should be to do most of the cultivation before 

 the crop is planted. 



The watermelon, like all other vine plants, is a gross 

 feeder and requires an abundant supply of available 

 plant-food over a comparatively short growing season. 

 For this reason, the fertilizing should be liberal and 

 the materials used of a nature to be quickly available. 

 When stable manure can be secured, this is to be pre- 

 ferred, but when it is not to be had crops planted on 

 lands which have had a crop of cowpeas turned under 

 respond reasonably well when a fertilizer carrying 3 to 

 4 per cent of nitrogen in the form of nitrate or sulfate 

 of ammonia, 8 per cent of potash, either sulfate or 

 muriate, and 8 per cent of phosphoric acid, either super- 

 phosphate or high-grade acid phosphate, is used at the 

 rate of 400 to 500 pounds to the acre in the drill. 



There is no advantage to be gained from planting 

 the seed for the commercial crop of watermelons 

 before the soil is in thorough tilth and well warmed up. 

 Planting should be delayed until both the soil and the 

 season are warm enough to insure quick germination 

 of the seed and rapid growth of the plants. As a rule, 

 the period for planting watermelons follows within a 

 fortnight that for corn. 



The watermelon is a more robust plant than either 

 the cucumber or the muskmelon and requires more 

 liberal spaces between both rows and hills in the row. 

 Two general systems of planting are followed: planting 

 in rows and planting in hills. Row-planting is very 

 generally practised in some localities; the method 

 followed is to open a furrow in which the fertilizer or 

 manure is scattered and incorporated with the soil 

 by the use of a suitable implement such as a scooter 

 or sweep. Two furrows are then turned together over 

 the fertilizer to form the bed on which to plant the 

 seed. In humid sections this is somewhat above the 

 general level of the surface, but in dry regions the seed 

 is either planted on the level or slightly below. An 

 abundance of seed is used so as to insure a dense stand 

 of plants in order to fortify the plantation against the 

 ravages of insect pests. After the plants are well 

 established and the danger of loss of stand from insect 

 depredations is over, the rows are thinned so that 

 individual plants stand at intervals of 2 or 3 feet, or 

 they may be thinned so that groups of three or four 

 plants are as far as 6 or 8 feet apart. The rows are 

 usually 8 feet apart. In the hill system of planting, 

 the fertilizer is put either down the length of the row as 

 above described, or the land may be laid off in check- 

 rows 8 by 8 feet apart and a shovelful of well-rotted 

 stable compost placed under each hill located at the 

 intersection of the 8-foot marks. Fertilizer may be 

 used instead of the manure. A stand of plants is insured 

 by placing a dozen or more seeds in a hill, the seeds 

 being scattered over an area of about 1 square foot 

 and the seeds covered with not more than 1 inch of 

 earth. 



As has been observed, the main cultivation of the 

 watermelon crop should be made before the seed is 



planted. No opportunity, however, should be lost to 

 keep the land free from weeds and in a fine state of 

 tilth from the time the plants appear above ground 

 until the vines are too large to continue the use of 

 horse-power implements. Even after implements are 

 excluded, all large weeds should be pulled by hand. 

 In many sections of the South, it is a common practice 

 to sow a light seeding of cowpeas in the watermelon 

 fields at the time of the last cultivation to act as a 

 partial shade to the fruits and to prevent the whipping 

 of the vines in the wind. The cowpeas also contribute 

 to the upkeep of the land, an important factor with 

 the light soils used for melon-culture. 



Melons should not follow closely after melons on the 

 same land, as areas used too frequently for melon- 

 culture are almost certain to become contaminated with 

 the wilt disease fungus. As this fungus is capable of 

 perpetuating itself for considerable periods when once 

 the soil is infested, a rotation period of five to seven 

 years is desirable in order to avoid losses on lands which 

 have been previously used for the crop. 



As has been suggested, the watermelon is not immune 

 to the ravages of insect pests and fungous diseases. 

 The striped cucumber beetle is one of the most 

 annoying and destructive insect pests attacking this 



2356. A market watermelon. 



crop. In the garden it can be controlled most satis- 

 factorily by the use of screens or by a square of 

 mosquito netting dropped over a tiny stake in the 

 center of the hill in such a manner as to form a tent 

 over the young plant; then by drawing earth over the 

 edges of the netting it will be held in place and the 

 insects excluded. The use of tobacco dust or tobacco 

 fertilizer as a mulch for the young plants serves as a 

 fairly effective repellant and is at the same time a 

 valuable fertilizer. 



The wilt disease has caused great loss in years past 

 and while no effective remedy is known, satisfactory 

 crops can be secured by careful attention to crop-rota- 

 tion in which wilt-resistant crops form a large factor 

 and in which the interval between melon crops is suffi- 

 ciently long, five to seven years being none too much. 



Harvesting and marketing. 



An important consideration in harvesting melons 

 for carload shipment is to avoid mixing sizes in the car. 

 If two sizes are to be shipped in the same car, they 

 should be loaded in separate ends. Buyers establish 

 the price for a load of melons by the minimum size of 

 the melons in the load. Melon markets have strong 

 likes and dislikes. Some prefer melons of a definite 

 size only, others prefer melons with particular markings, 

 while still others require either a long or globular melon. 

 These peculiarities of the market should be carefully 

 studied and the plantings be so planned as to meet the 

 preferences of the market to the fullest possible extent. 

 At shipping-time these features should be kept in mind 

 and the distribution of the melons made accordingly. 



Varieties of watermelon. 



Melons of the highest quality have brittle flesh, few 

 fibers, and a thin rind. Such melons are not well 



